A HOLE IN THE SUN'S ATMOSPHERE: Make that two holes. A pair of coronal holes (one northern and one southern) are turning toward Earth and sending dual streams of solar wind in our direction. ETA: Sept. 14-16. Their arrival could trigger equinox auroras. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
BLUEBIRD SATELLITE SIGHTINGS: This weekend, BlueBird satellites have been flying over North America. These are AST SpaceMobile's "cell towers in space" with giant antennas capable of supplying broadband data to phones almost anywhere on Earth. How bright are they? "BlueBird 12 was as bright as Altair," reports Kevin Fetter, who sends these images from Brockville, Ontario:
Altair is magnitude +0.8, which means the BlueBirds are about as bright as first magnitude stars when they pass directly overhead. They outshine typical Starlink satellites by 300 times.
"BlueBird 11 was even brighter just before it passed into Earth's shadow and winked out," he says. This behavior is expected. Just before a BlueBird enters shadow, the sun is almost directly behind the observer, and the satellite's flat antenna bounces sunlight straight back at you.
Get used to them. There are a dozen BlueBirds in orbit now, with AST SpaceMobile planning to have about 45 by the end of 2026. The FCC has authorized up to 248.
Would you like to see a BlueBird with your own eyes? Sign up for Backyard Astronomy Alerts. We'll send you a text message when the "cell towers in space" are about to fly over your hometown.
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THE SPRITE AND THE SEA GOAT: Where is the Sea Goat? Just follow the sprite:
"I was chasing a cluster of thunderstorms in Arizona on Sept 11th when a red spoke of light flashed above the storm tops," says photographer Jeremy Perez. "It pointed to the east edge of Capricornus."
Capricornus *is* the Sea Goat, a goat with the tail of a fish. This strange creature goes back to Babylonian astronomy and later became a fixture in Greek myth. In Perez's photo, a carrot sprite points right at its tail, the 3rd magnitude star Deneb Algedi.
It's Monsoon storm season in the American Southwest, which means now is a good time to catch sprites alongside the desert Milky Way. If you're in the area and see one, submit your photos here.
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COSMIC CAT WINE STOPPER: You can't buy this on Amazon. Only the Earth to Sky Store has the Cosmic Cat Wine Stopper. On Dec. 17, 2025, this far-out stopper flew to the stratosphere onboard an Earth to Sky Calculus cosmic ray research balloon:
You can have it for $99.95. The wooden cat is hand carved and painted, and it has an airtight rubber seal that securely plugs bottles of wine or any other beverage. With your stopper, you'll receive a gift card showing the cat in flight and telling the story of its journey to the stratosphere (and back again).
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
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