CHANCE OF X-FLARES TODAY: Giant sunspot 4197 has developed an unstable 'beta-gamma-delta' magnetic field that harbors energy for strong explosions. NOAA forecasters estimate a 75% chance of M-class solar flares and a 25% chance of X-flares during the next 24 hours. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
EARTH-DIRECTED SOLAR FLARE: The sun is a tricky star. While we were watching giant sunspot 4197, a different, much smaller sunspot erupted. On Aug 30th at 20:02 UTC, sunspot 4204 produced a long duration M2.7-class solar flare:
Although the flare was not very intense, it lasted for 3 hours, long enough to lift a CME out of the sun's atmosphere. Confirmation of a possible halo CME awaits fresh data from CCOR-1 and SOHO coronagraphs. Stay tuned. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
ROCKET FUEL DUMP OVER EUROPE: China's response to Starlink created a sky show over Europe on Aug. 25th. "We saw something very strange in the sky above Salamanca, Spain," reports Oscar Martín Mesonero. "There was a very bright white cloud that seemed to be following an orbital trajectory. What could it be?"
Answer: Fuel dumped from a Chinese rocket. The Chang Zheng 8A was launched earlier the same evening from Hainan Island, China.
The rocket carried nine communication satellites for China's Guowang project. Guowang is a Chinese initiative to compete with Starlink. Officials say that almost 13,000 satellites are planned for the network, with at least half launching before 2032. The role of Starlink in the Ukraine war caught the attention of Chinese military analysts, and they are determined to control their own satellite network to avoid dependence on foreign powers.
There are currently 72 Guowang satellites in orbit, a tiny fraction of the 8000 Starlinks that preceded them. However, China has a way of catching up....
more images: from Nicolas Rossetto of Jura, France; from Till Credner of Swabian Jura, Germany; from John H. Menz of Nonington, Kent, England; from Benjamin Poupard of Aussonce, France;; from Huub Eggen of Deventer, the Netherlands
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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.
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