SpaceWeather.com Archive — Wed, Jul 23, 2025

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SOLAR WIND SPARKS AURORAS: Earth is entering a stream of high-speed solar wind flowing from an equatorial hole in the sun's atmosphere. First contact on July 22nd sparked a minor G1-class geomagnetic storm with red auroras across northern-tier US states. Marybeth Kiczenski sends ths picture from Bar Harbor, Maine:

"This was my first time aurora hunting in Maine, and right away I got some at Jordon Pond!" says Kiczenski. "It was super exciting to catch them at this iconic location."

More auroras may be in the offing. NOAA forecasters say there is a chance of G2-class geomagnetic storms on July 23rd as Earth moves deeper into the stream. Aurora alerts: SMS Text

Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
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TITAN'S SHADOW ON SATURN: Saturn is experiencing an equinox. Here on Earth, that means it's Saturn's "shadow season." For the first time in 15 years we can watch the shadows of Saturn's moons cross the planet's cloudtops. Gregg Ruppel photographed this example from Oro Valley, Arizona:

"This is Titan and its shadow," says Ruppel. "I caught them at 3 am on July 18th."

Saturn's strangely Earthlike moon Titan has a diameter of about 5,150 kilometers. It's the second-largest moon in the solar system, second only to Jupiter's Ganymede. Because of these dimensions, it casts a huge shadow, which is easy to see through backyard telescopes.

Titan's shadow transits will repeat at approximately 15-day intervals for the next 2 months. Next up: Aug. 3rd. Here is a calendar of far-out photo ops.

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CHRISTMAS IN JULY: Are you looking for a far-out gift? Check out the Earth to Sky Store. It's filled with unique items that have flown to the edge of space onboard cosmic ray research balloons.

Carried aloft by giant helium balloons, these unique gifts have flown above 99.7% of Earth's atmosphere, experiencing space-like blasts of cosmic rays, extreme cold, and a wild ride parachuting back to Earth after the balloon explodes. Even Amazon doesn't carry items this far out.