AI writing is everywhere -- except here. This website is written by Dr. Tony Phillips, a carbon-based lifeform with 30 yrs of forecasting experience. Our guarantee: If you find a mistake, it was made by a real human being.
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WEEKEND AURORA OUTBURST: First, a CME hit Earth on Oct. 3rd. Then a solar wind stream struck on Oct. 4th. The double blow caused a two-day G1/G2-class geomagnetic storm with auroras photographed in the USA from New York to Iowa. The best display, however, was in New Zealand. The solar wind is still blowing around Earth, so more high-latitude auroras are possible on Oct. 5th. Aurora alerts: SMS Text
LUNAR OCCULTATION OF JUPITER: This is worth waking up for. On Tuesday morning before sunrise, Jupiter and the crescent Moon will have a spectacular close encounter. In parts of the USA and Canada, it will become a rare occultation.
The Oct. 6th lunar occultation of Jupiter is one of the best astronomy events of 2026. Observers across a wide swath of the USA will have a ringside seat as Jupiter vanishes behind the edge of the Moon, then reappears again later. Jupiter is very bright, so this is a naked-eye event.
If you have a telescope, take a closer look: Galilean satellites Europa, Callisto and Io slip behind the Moon minutes before Jupiter does. Ganymede disappears last. Even small telescopes will show this procession.
Different cities have different occultation times. For instance, in New York, Jupiter disappears at 4:24 a.m. EDT and reappears at 5:27 a.m. In Chicago, it is 3:22 to 4:17 a.m. CDT. West Coast cities will see only a close encounter--no occultation--but the near miss will be beautiful. Along the Pacific coast, the best time to look is between 3:00 and 5:00 am PDT.
If you're in the occultation zone, watch the whole thing. The end is especially good. Jupiter is a disk, not a point, so takes nearly a minute to reappear over the Moon's mountainous dark limb. The Galilean satellites will pop into view one after another, abruptly like stars.
Take pictures! And submit them here.
More resources: Timetable for 154 Cities, Sky Map, Backyard Astronomy Alerts
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
SHATTERED PLANETESIMAL METEORITE PENDANT: When meteorites land on Earth, they usually stay on Earth. This one went back to space. On Sept. 16, 2026, we flew this genuine iron meteorite pendant to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon:
You can have it for $278.95. Thought to be the remnant of a shattered planetesimal, the original meteorite crashed to Earth in northern Sweden where it was preserved in glacial ice. This polished spherical fragment is mounted in a sterling silver "planetary rings" frame, and comes with a full-color gift card showing the pendant in flight.
You can tell it's real just by looking. The surface of the sphere is covered with Widmanstätten patterns--interlocking crystals of iron-nickel alloy that grew inside the core of an ancient planetesimal as it cooled over millions of years.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
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Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
Free: Space Weather Newsletter
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 October 4, 2026, the network reported 8 fireballs.
(8 sporadics)
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 October 5, 2026 there were 2349 potentially hazardous asteroids.
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Recent
& Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
| Asteroid |
Date(UT) |
Miss Distance |
Velocity (km/s) |
Diameter (m) |
| 2026 SB12 |
2026-Sep-30 |
10.1 LD |
10.3 |
28 |
| 2026 RS |
2026-Sep-30 |
11.2 LD |
6 |
25 |
| 2026 TM |
2026-Sep-30 |
10.9 LD |
12.1 |
36 |
| 2026 SG12 |
2026-Sep-30 |
14.7 LD |
11.7 |
56 |
| 2026 RX38 |
2026-Sep-30 |
10 LD |
14.3 |
33 |
| 2018 SP2 |
2026-Sep-30 |
5 LD |
14.3 |
39 |
| 2026 TZ |
2026-Oct-01 |
1.3 LD |
16.1 |
13 |
| 2026 TE |
2026-Oct-01 |
4.9 LD |
8 |
17 |
| 2026 TF1 |
2026-Oct-01 |
5.6 LD |
11.3 |
13 |
| 2026 TK1 |
2026-Oct-01 |
6.5 LD |
7.1 |
18 |
| 2026 TD |
2026-Oct-02 |
1.7 LD |
11.3 |
14 |
| 2026 TE1 |
2026-Oct-02 |
2.1 LD |
15.2 |
18 |
| 2026 TO1 |
2026-Oct-02 |
2.9 LD |
16.7 |
13 |
| 2019 AS2 |
2026-Oct-02 |
4.5 LD |
7.3 |
49 |
| 2026 RP39 |
2026-Oct-03 |
6.1 LD |
6.1 |
20 |
| 2026 TK |
2026-Oct-03 |
3.2 LD |
3.1 |
6 |
| 2026 TN1 |
2026-Oct-03 |
8.6 LD |
16.3 |
29 |
| 2026 TA |
2026-Oct-03 |
2.3 LD |
19 |
18 |
| 2024 SH7 |
2026-Oct-04 |
10.5 LD |
10.8 |
12 |
| 2026 TF |
2026-Oct-04 |
5.2 LD |
9.2 |
20 |
| 2026 TD1 |
2026-Oct-05 |
6.7 LD |
6.8 |
12 |
| 2026 SA17 |
2026-Oct-05 |
10 LD |
11.3 |
22 |
| 2026 TX1 |
2026-Oct-05 |
12.9 LD |
9 |
37 |
| 2026 TR |
2026-Oct-05 |
19.1 LD |
8 |
29 |
| 2026 TH1 |
2026-Oct-05 |
12.2 LD |
7.1 |
10 |
| 2026 TP1 |
2026-Oct-06 |
16.5 LD |
6.5 |
24 |
| 2026 TW1 |
2026-Oct-06 |
9.1 LD |
12.1 |
17 |
| 2024 TD16 |
2026-Oct-07 |
14.2 LD |
11.8 |
17 |
| 2026 TX |
2026-Oct-08 |
2.2 LD |
10.3 |
10 |
| 2026 TQ1 |
2026-Oct-08 |
2.2 LD |
9.1 |
9 |
| 2015 TS238 |
2026-Oct-08 |
4.7 LD |
15.8 |
30 |
| 2026 TO |
2026-Oct-09 |
8.6 LD |
6.9 |
16 |
| 2019 SD8 |
2026-Oct-10 |
18.7 LD |
9.5 |
12 |
| 2026 TJ |
2026-Oct-13 |
19.7 LD |
7.3 |
126 |
| 2026 TC1 |
2026-Oct-13 |
16.1 LD |
13.1 |
34 |
| 2022 UP6 |
2026-Oct-15 |
2.6 LD |
9 |
8 |
| 2000 SZ162 |
2026-Oct-16 |
19.9 LD |
5.7 |
12 |
| 2026 TS |
2026-Oct-18 |
2.4 LD |
10.3 |
55 |
| 2026 TP |
2026-Oct-20 |
12.2 LD |
9.9 |
51 |
| 2020 FN3 |
2026-Oct-20 |
12.4 LD |
5.8 |
45 |
| 2026 TU1 |
2026-Oct-21 |
12.7 LD |
8 |
25 |
| 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 |
| 2017 WJ2 |
2026-Nov-05 |
15.6 LD |
11.8 |
118 |
| 2016 VZ1 |
2026-Nov-05 |
20 LD |
13.5 |
21 |
| 2001 KF54 |
2026-Nov-06 |
18.9 LD |
16.4 |
391 |
| 2025 UF5 |
2026-Nov-09 |
18.9 LD |
1.9 |
10 |
| 2015 VH65 |
2026-Nov-10 |
9.7 LD |
8 |
10 |
| 2012 YD7 |
2026-Nov-10 |
18.6 LD |
7.5 |
49 |
| 2023 VF3 |
2026-Nov-11 |
8.5 LD |
8.8 |
19 |
| 2022 MP2 |
2026-Nov-13 |
19.8 LD |
3.8 |
23 |
| 2025 VG5 |
2026-Nov-13 |
18.2 LD |
4.9 |
16 |
| 2023 VE6 |
2026-Nov-17 |
18.4 LD |
10.1 |
13 |
| 2019 WT1 |
2026-Nov-18 |
19.7 LD |
9.7 |
16 |
| 2018 NE1 |
2026-Nov-19 |
16.7 LD |
13.3 |
74 |
| 2025 CP1 |
2026-Nov-30 |
12.9 LD |
10.8 |
6 |
Notes: LD means
"Lunar Distance." 1 LD = 384,401 km, the distance
between Earth and the Moon. 1 LD also equals 0.00256
AU.
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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.
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The
official U.S. government space weather bureau |
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The
first place to look for information about sundogs,
pillars, rainbows and related phenomena. |
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Researchers
call it a "Hubble for the sun." SDO
is the most advanced solar observatory ever. |
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3D
views of the sun from NASA's Solar and Terrestrial
Relations Observatory |
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Realtime
and archival images of the Sun from SOHO. |
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information about sunspots based on the latest NOAA/USAF Active Region Summary |
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current counts of failed and deployed Starlink satellites from Jonathan's Space Page. See also, all satellite statistics. |
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Authoritative predictions of space junk and satellite re-entries |
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from
the NOAA Space Environment Center |
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fun to read, but should be taken with a grain of salt! Forecasts looking ahead more than a few days are often wrong. |
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from the NOAA Space Environment Center |
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the
underlying science of space weather |
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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. |
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