THE CMEs ARE COMING (UPDATED): An updated NOAA model shows at least three CMEs heading for Earth. Most of them come from active sunspot 4246, described below. Although the CMEs are individually faint and relatively slow, they could combine to cause a G1 or G2-class geomagnetic storm when they arrive on Oct. 16-17. High-latitude . CME impact alerts: SMS Text.
A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS SUNSPOT: It's big, and a little weird. Sunspot 4246 has grown rapidly into one of the largest sunspots of Solar Cycle 25. Moreover, it has an unusual mixed-polarity magnetic field, shown in this Oct. 14th magnetic map from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory:
Most sunspots have a simple 
or 
magnetic configuration, like that of an ordinary bar magnet. Nearby sunspot 4248 is a good example. Sunspot 4246 is different, though. It has multiple magnetic poles crowded together in a disorganized fashion.
And that's why this sunspot is potentially dangerous. When opposite polarities mix together too closely--boom!--magnetic reconnection can power strong solar flares. Don't be surprised if there's an X-flare on Oct. 14th. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text.
more images: from Harald Paleske of Weißenfels, Sachsen Anhalt, Germany; from Richard Schrantz of Nicholasville, Kentucky
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MARTIAN SPACE SEED EXPERIMENT: This is a student science project--and you can participate. On Oct. 4, 2025, the young scientists of Earth to Sky Calculus launched six test tubes of garden seeds into the stratosphere, where they floated as high as 100,676 feet for almost three hours:
Supervised by Marvin the Martian, these okra, tomato, and jalapeño pepper seeds were exposed to temperatures as low as -63 C and cosmic ray fluxes 100x Earth-normal. In the Spring, the students will plant these seeds alongside control samples to discover the difference space travel makes.
You can do the same experiment! For $99, you can have a test tube of flown seeds and a packet of control seeds that remained on Earth. We'll be eager to hear what happens in your own space garden.
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