 | | |  SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts | | Updated at: 2026 Sep 05 2200 UTC FLARE | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | CLASS M | 20 % | 20 % | CLASS X | 01 % | 01 % |  Geomagnetic Storms:
Probabilities for significant disturbances in Earth's magnetic field are given for three activity levels: active, minor storm, severe storm Updated at: 2026 Sep 05 2200 UTC Mid-latitudes | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | ACTIVE | 10 % | 30 % | MINOR | 01 % | 10 % | SEVERE | 01 % | 01 % | High latitudes | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | ACTIVE | 15 % | 15 % | MINOR | 15 % | 20 % | SEVERE | 15 % | 25 % | | | |  | | | | | | | | | | | This is an AI Free Zone: AI writing is everywhere -- except here. Spaceweather.com is written 100% by Dr. Tony Phillips, a carbon-based lifeform with 30 yrs of forecasting experience. If you find a mistake, rest assured it was made by a real human being. | | | EARTH-DIRECTED SOLAR ACTIVITY: A C9-class solar flare from sunspot 4524 hurled a CME into space on Sept. 5th. A NASA model suggests it will hit Earth on Sept. 8th. The impact could spark a G1-class geomagnetic storm with high latitude auroras. CME impact alerts: SMS Text. EARTH IS ROUND, AND IT HAS OZONE: Lunar eclipses happen when the Moon moves through Earth's shadow. This composite of images taken during the Aug. 27th lunar eclipse proves Earth is round: 
"The sequence runs from right to left, as the Moon moved west to east through the shadow and against the background stars of Aquarius." explains photographer Alan Dyer of Alberta, Canada. "In doing so the Moon 'draws' the circular shape of the Earth's inner shadow, which at the Moon's distance is about three times the diameter of the Moon itself." Dyer's photos also recorded evidence of Earth's ozone layer. Look at the inset. The pale blue fringe at the edge of Earth's shadow is caused by O3. During a lunar eclipse, most of the light illuminating the Moon passes through Earth's stratosphere, which is reddened by scattering. However, light passing through the upper stratosphere penetrates the ozone layer, which absorbs red light and actually makes the passing light ray bluer. A spherical planet with an ozone layer: Turns out, you can learn alot from a lunar eclipse. Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
Free: Space Weather Newsletter MILLION-YEAR-OLD METEORITE PENDANT: About one million years ago, this meteorite landed in northern Sweden. On Aug. 25, 2026, we sent it back onboard a cosmic ray research balloon: 
You can have it for $269.95. This is a spherical fragment of the Muonionalusta Meteorite found near the Muonio River in Sweden. It is contained within a sterling silver cage that hangs from a matching 18-inch chain. The meteorite comes with a certificate of authenticity, but you can see that it's real using your own eyes. The sphere is crisscrossed by a faint pattern of geometric crystal lines formed by millions of years of slow cooling in space. The students of Earth to Sky Calculus are selling space pendants to pay the helium bill for their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the jewelry in flight and telling the story of its trip to the stratosphere and back again. Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
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Every night, a network of NASA all-sky cameras scans the skies above the United States for meteoritic fireballs. Automated software maintained by NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office calculates their orbits, velocity, penetration depth in Earth's atmosphere and many other characteristics. Daily results are presented here on Spaceweather.com. On September 4, 2026, the network reported 38 fireballs.
(36 sporadics, 2 alpha Aurigids)  In this diagram of the inner solar system, all of the fireball orbits intersect at a single point--Earth. The orbits are color-coded by velocity, from slow (red) to fast (blue). [Larger image] [movies] Potentially Hazardous Asteroids ( PHAs) are space rocks larger than approximately 100m that can come closer to Earth than 0.05 AU. None of the known PHAs is on a collision course with our planet, although astronomers are finding new ones all the time. On September 5, 2026 there were 2349 potentially hazardous asteroids.
 | Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters: | Asteroid | Date(UT) | Miss Distance | Velocity (km/s) | Diameter (m) | | 2026 RA | 2026-Aug-31 | 13.5 LD | 7 | 38 | | 2026 QQ1 | 2026-Aug-31 | 2.8 LD | 7.3 | 68 | | 2026 QJ3 | 2026-Aug-31 | 3.7 LD | 9.3 | 25 | | 2017 RH16 | 2026-Aug-31 | 8.7 LD | 12.1 | 21 | | 2026 QB2 | 2026-Sep-01 | 5.2 LD | 13.7 | 22 | | 2025 CL3 | 2026-Sep-01 | 9.6 LD | 13.5 | 30 | | 2018 RD2 | 2026-Sep-01 | 19.5 LD | 9.6 | 14 | | 2025 QV5 | 2026-Sep-02 | 14.2 LD | 7.3 | 12 | | 2026 RB | 2026-Sep-02 | 7.5 LD | 8.6 | 19 | | 2026 RZ | 2026-Sep-03 | 0.5 LD | 11.2 | 4 | | 2026 RE | 2026-Sep-03 | 11 LD | 7.3 | 39 | | 2026 RC | 2026-Sep-03 | 0.8 LD | 6.2 | 6 | | 2026 RF | 2026-Sep-05 | 10.3 LD | 8.7 | 40 | | 2026 RG | 2026-Sep-05 | 1.3 LD | 12.4 | 11 | | 2026 RA1 | 2026-Sep-06 | 2.1 LD | 8.1 | 10 | | 2022 RK | 2026-Sep-06 | 13.7 LD | 8.6 | 24 | | 2026 RD | 2026-Sep-06 | 2.7 LD | 5.9 | 7 | | 2024 RV12 | 2026-Sep-09 | 5.6 LD | 12.1 | 22 | | 2026 OH3 | 2026-Sep-11 | 12.4 LD | 20.2 | 197 | | 2026 RJ | 2026-Sep-11 | 4.4 LD | 6.9 | 23 | | 2025 RQ2 | 2026-Sep-11 | 17.5 LD | 12.1 | 17 | | 2010 FX9 | 2026-Sep-14 | 9.4 LD | 11.1 | 55 | | 2025 SC | 2026-Sep-14 | 19.2 LD | 1.9 | 3 | | 2024 RP12 | 2026-Sep-15 | 18.5 LD | 6.6 | 51 | | 2026 NT2 | 2026-Sep-17 | 16.1 LD | 12.5 | 314 | | 2026 RS | 2026-Sep-30 | 11.2 LD | 6 | 23 | | 2018 SP2 | 2026-Sep-30 | 5 LD | 14.3 | 39 | | 2024 SH7 | 2026-Oct-04 | 10.5 LD | 10.8 | 12 | | 2024 TD16 | 2026-Oct-07 | 14.2 LD | 11.8 | 17 | | 2015 TS238 | 2026-Oct-08 | 4.7 LD | 15.8 | 30 | | 2019 SD8 | 2026-Oct-10 | 18.7 LD | 9.5 | 12 | | 2022 UP6 | 2026-Oct-15 | 2.6 LD | 9 | 8 | | 2000 SZ162 | 2026-Oct-16 | 19.9 LD | 5.7 | 12 | | 2020 FN3 | 2026-Oct-20 | 12.4 LD | 5.8 | 45 | | 2017 UX7 | 2026-Oct-22 | 17 LD | 10.3 | 27 | | 2018 GS1 | 2026-Oct-28 | 11.1 LD | 9.3 | 108 | | 2022 UV21 | 2026-Oct-29 | 14.8 LD | 9.6 | 13 | | 2025 UK9 | 2026-Oct-31 | 0.8 LD | 7.8 | 4 | | 524522 | 2026-Nov-02 | 15.7 LD | 8.7 | 277 | | 2021 VC4 | 2026-Nov-03 | 6 LD | 11.2 | 15 | Notes: LD means "Lunar Distance." 1 LD = 384,401 km, the distance between Earth and the Moon. 1 LD also equals 0.00256 AU. | | Cosmic Rays in the Atmosphere | SPACE WEATHER BALLOON DATA: Almost once a week, Spaceweather.com and the students of Earth to Sky Calculus fly space weather balloons to the stratosphere over California. These balloons are equipped with sensors that detect secondary cosmic rays, a form of radiation from space that can penetrate all the way down to Earth's surface. Our monitoring program has been underway without interruption for 10 years, resulting in a unique dataset of in situ atmospheric measurements. Latest results (Nov. 2024): Atmospheric radiation is sharply decreasing in 2024. Our latest measurements in November registered a 10-year low: 
What's going on? Ironically, the radiation drop is caused by increasing solar activity. Solar Cycle 25 has roared to life faster than forecasters expected. The sun's strengthening and increasingly tangled magnetic field repels cosmic rays from deep space. In addition, solar coronal mass ejections (CMEs) sweep aside cosmic rays, causing sharp reductions called "Forbush Decreases." The two effects blend together to bring daily radiation levels down. .Who cares? Cosmic rays are a surprisingly "down to Earth" form of space weather. They can alter the chemistry of the atmosphere, trigger lightning, and penetrate commercial airplanes. According to a study from the Harvard T.H. Chan school of public health, crews of aircraft have higher rates of cancer than the general population. The researchers listed cosmic rays, irregular sleep habits, and chemical contaminants as leading risk factors. A number of controversial studies (#1, #2, #3, #4) go even further, linking cosmic rays with cardiac arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. Technical notes: The radiation sensors onboard our helium balloons detect X-rays and gamma-rays in the energy range 10 keV to 20 MeV. These energies span the range of medical X-ray machines and airport security scanners. Data points in the graph labeled "Stratospheric Radiation" correspond to the peak of the Regener-Pfotzer maximum, which lies about 67,000 feet above central California. When cosmic rays crash into Earth's atmosphere, they produce a spray of secondary particles that is most intense at the entrance to the stratosphere. Physicists Eric Regener and Georg Pfotzer discovered the maximum using balloons in the 1930s and it is what we are measuring today. | | The official U.S. government space weather bureau | | | The first place to look for information about sundogs, pillars, rainbows and related phenomena. | | | Researchers call it a "Hubble for the sun." SDO is the most advanced solar observatory ever. | | | 3D views of the sun from NASA's Solar and Terrestrial Relations Observatory | | | Realtime and archival images of the Sun from SOHO. | | | information about sunspots based on the latest NOAA/USAF Active Region Summary | | | current counts of failed and deployed Starlink satellites from Jonathan's Space Page. See also, all satellite statistics. | | | Authoritative predictions of space junk and satellite re-entries | | | from the NOAA Space Environment Center | | | fun to read, but should be taken with a grain of salt! Forecasts looking ahead more than a few days are often wrong. | | | from the NOAA Space Environment Center | | | the underlying science of space weather |  | Got a chipped or cracked windshield that prevents you from seeing space weather events while driving? Get windshield replacement from SR Windows & Glass with free mobile auto glass service anywhere in the Phoenix area. | | | These links help Spaceweather.com stay online. Thank you to our supporters! | | | | | | | | |  | | |  | ©2021 Spaceweather.com. All rights reserved. This site is penned daily by Dr. Tony Phillips. |
