A CME IS COMING: High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras on Aug. 7th when a CME is expected to hit Earth. It's only a minor CME, but it is well aimed, so the impact could cause a G1-class geomagnetic storm. CME Impact Alerts: SMS Text
SPACEX MOON IMPACT OBSERVED: It really happened. On Aug. 5th, a dead Falcon 9 upper stage slammed into the Moon near Einstein crater at 5,400 mph. The impact was recorded from lunar orbit and from Earth.
First, lunar orbit:
Images edited by Bum-Suk Yeom of Iksan, South Korea.
South Korea's Danuri spacecraft (the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter) flew ~350 km over the impact site, post crash, and secured this high-resolution image of a fresh black scar on the lunar surface. Before images show no such mark.
Back on Earth, astronomers struggled to record the crash because it occurred on the brightly-lit edge of the Moon. The explosion was overwhelmed by glare.
Astronomers at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía in Spain focused instead on the plume of debris--and they caught it. This video shows the ejecta rising into space.
The plume is diffuse, but massive: Theoretical pre-impact models predicted as much as 800,000 pounds of debris (400 tons of pulverized moondust) would emerge from the new crater.
"The black area corresponds to the lunar disk," notes team member José María Madiedo. They blocked the glare from the Moon's daylit disk using an occulting device--a kind of "lunar coronagraph" trick we described before the crash. It worked.
Congratulations to the observers who caught this rare event!
more images: from Agnieszka and Friedrich Deters of Spring Lake Park, MN; from Mason Klenklen of Kansas City, MO; from Marcus Prazniak of Tonopah, NV
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STERLING SILVER HUMMINGBIRD PENDANT: This hummingbird has touched space. On Aug. 2nd, 2026, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched it to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon, more than 117,710 feet high:
You can have it for $179.95. The hummingbird's body and feathers are 100% sterling silver decorated by cubic zirconia gemstones with enamel highlights. It 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 bird and red lily in flight, and telling the story of their 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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