MONSTER SUNSPOTS: A phalanx of large sunspots is facing Earth. They're so large, photographers are catching them in the sunrise and sunset. (Caution: always use safe solar filters!) NOAA forecasters estimate a 65% chance of M-class solar flares and a 15% chance of X-flares solar flares during the next 24 hours. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
EARTH THROUGH A CORONAGRAPH: Something unusual is happening to NOAA’s new CCOR-1 coronagraph. Once a day, a planet drifts through the field of view. It’s Earth. On Aug. 26th, the camera caught the Great Lakes and city lights of North America:
Click to zoom in for a better view of the city labels
Coronagraphs are designed to observe the sun. How did Earth get into the picture? CCOR-1 is unlike previous coronagraphs, which make their observations from a Lagrange Point far from Earth. Instead, CCOR-1 is in a geostationary orbit. Around the time of the equinoxes, Earth itself slips between CCOR-1 and the sun, revealing its night side to the coronagraph.
Earth is now a regular "guest star" in CCOR-1's solar movies. Look for it every day between 0400 and 0600 UTC, right here.
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AMBER DRAGONFLY SPACE PENDANT: This dragonfly has touched space. On Aug. 22, 2025, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched it to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon, 105,108 feet above California's Sierra Nevada mountains:
You can have it for $149.95. Made of genuine Baltic Amber with a sterling silver exoskeleton, the rich Cognac-colored pendant measures 3/4 inch and comes with a matching 18-inch sterling silver chain.
The students are selling space pendants to pay the helium bill for their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the ornament in flight and telling the story of its trip to the stratosphere and back again.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
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