GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH (G1): Minor G1-class geomagnetic storms are possible on May 15th when a stream of solar wind is expected to hit Earth. The gaseous material is flowing from a large hole in the sun's atmosphere. The New Moon will provide dark skies for high-latitude auroras. Free: Space Weather Newsletter.
NEAR-EARTH ASTEROID VS NEAR-EARTH SATELLITES: On May 7th, Italian amateur astronomer Enrico Pettarin decided to try to photograph NEO 2026 JH, a newly discovered near-Earth asteroid. To image the house-sized space rock, he exposed a patch of sky for about 20 minutes. Can you find the asteroid?
Still looking? You can find it labeled here.
"Maybe it was the 'perfect' time of night, but during my observation at least 10 satellites crossed the field of view," says Pettarin. "Fortunately, this time the trails missed the asteroid."
Interfering streaks come from three different commercial broadband megaconstellations (9 Starlinks, 1 OneWeb, 1 Kuiper), plus a piece of old Russian rocket debris (a Briz-M fuel tank). The distribution of streaks mirrors the global ranking of megaconstellation populations--with Starlink at #1 (10,375 satellites), Oneweb at #2 (634 sats) and Amazon Kuiper/Leo at #3 (302 sats)--all of which outnumber the faint near-Earth asteroids you can typically find in a 1x1 degree field of view.
No problem, why would we ever need to find an asteroid?
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'ALWAYS AND FOREVER' EMERALD PENDANT: It's the color of a green flash in a golden sunset: The Always and Forever Emerald Pendent. On April 29, 2026, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched it to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon:
You can have it for $169.95. Engraved with the words "I love you always and forever", this 18K gold-plated sterling silver pendant has a synthetic emerald in the middle surrounded by glittering 5A cubic zirconia nuggets. It is a visually striking premium pendant that makes a great anniversary or birthday gift.
You pendant comes with a greeting card showing the jewelry in flight and telling the story of its trip to the stratosphere and back again.
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