INTERPLANETARY SHOCK WAVE DETECTED: An unexpected shock wave hit NOAA's Solar-1 spacecraft on Sept. 14th at 02:28 UT--probably a previously undetected CME. About an hour later, it hit Earth. The weak impact may yet cause a minor G1-class geomagnetic storm. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
LUNAR OCCULTATION OF VENUS & SUNSET CONJUNCTION: The Moon just occulted Venus. The event was visible from India to Europe, where Thierry Legault of Le Mans, France, took this picture:
"Venus was only 8° above the horizon when it emerged from behind the Moon in daylight," says Legault. "Both were crescents--a truly beautiful sight!"
Venus is receding from the Moon now, but they will still be close together when night falls over the Americas, creating a twilight conjunction with sunset colors. Look low toward the WSW just after sunset:
Tonight's Moon is a slender crescent, only ~15%. Look for the ghost of the full Moon within the crescent's horns. That is caused by Earthshine--sunlight reflected from our own planet. If you look at Venus through a telescope or binoculars, you'll see that it's a crescent, too. Enjoy the show!
more images: from Francois Rouviere of Cannes, France; from Shahrin Ahmad of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; from Mohammad Odeh of Abu Dhabi, UAE; from Gadi Eidelheit of Rechovot, Israel; from Javier Manteca Exposito of Madrid, Spain; from Maximilian-Vlad Teodorescu of Magurele, Romania; from Amol Kankariya of Pune, Maharashtra, India
BLUEBIRD SIGHTINGS: They're as bright as we thought. AST SpaceMobile's giant BlueBird satellites ("cell phone towers in space") have been flying over North America since Friday, and observers report them shining like first magnitude stars. On Sept. 11th, Kevin Fetter photographed two BlueBirds over Brockville, Ontario:
"BlueBird 12 was about as bright as Altair," says Fetter. "BlueBird 11 was even brighter before it passed into Earth's shadow and winked out," he says.
Dr. Tony Phillips also saw the Bluebirds last night in the Sierra Nevada, confirming that Bluebird 12 was as bright as Altair. Blue 13 was dimmer, closer to 2nd magnitude while BlueBird 11, strangely, was completely invisible.
These observations indicate that BlueBirds can outshine typical Starlink satellites by 300 times, sometimes more. The flock is growing. There are a dozen BlueBirds in orbit now, with 48 planned by the end of 2026. The FCC has authorized up to 248 in the years ahead.
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.
more images: from Ron Myers of Sacramento, CA
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STARRY NIGHT WINE STOPPER: You can't buy this on Amazon. Only the Earth to Sky Store has the Starry Night Wine Stopper. On March 15, 2026, this impressionist stopper flew to the stratosphere onboard an Earth to Sky Calculus cosmic ray research balloon:
You can have it for $99.95. The Starry Night is an oil-on-canvas painting by Vincent van Gogh. Physicists say it accurately depicts Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities in the clouds outside his asylum room at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, just before sunrise. The airtight rubber seal securely plugs bottles of wine or any other beverage.
With your stopper, you'll receive a gift card showing the Starry Night in flight and telling the story of its journey to the stratosphere (and back again).
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