NOAA
Every Cosmic Herald story on NOAA — missions, launches, discoveries, and the business of space, newest first.
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Stargazing
A Convoy of Solar Storms Is Pushing Auroras Deep Into Mid-Latitudes This Week
NOAA issued a G1-G2 geomagnetic storm watch after sunspot AR4524 fired off four CMEs in two days, and skywatchers from Chicago to Edinburgh — and possibly New York and London — could catch aurora through September 9.
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Stargazing
NOAA Issues G1 Storm Watch as a Queue of CMEs Bears Down on Earth
NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center issued a G1-Minor geomagnetic storm watch for September 8-9 as multiple CMEs and a coronal-hole stream converge on Earth, with aurora possible across the northern U.S. and forecast confidence still low.
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Stargazing
This Week's Dawn Sky: The Crescent Moon Walks From Mars to Jupiter as a CME Nudges the Aurora
Four mornings, Sept. 6-9: a thinning crescent Moon slides past Mars in Gemini, then Jupiter in Cancer, while a C9-flare CME due Sept. 8 puts a "maybe" on high-latitude aurora ahead of the Sept. 11 new Moon.
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Stargazing
A Minor Radiation Storm and an Inbound CME Set Up a Weekend Aurora Watch
NOAA logged repeated S1-minor proton storm alerts on September 5 as a coronal mass ejection from sunspot AR4524 heads for Earth, with arrival expected September 8 and a shot at G1-level auroras.
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Stargazing
Sunspot AR4513 Fires an M7 Flare as NOAA Posts a G2 Storm Watch Days Before the Lunar Eclipse
A sprawling, magnetically tangled sunspot let loose an M7 flare and a run of CMEs, prompting a G2 storm watch whose aurora timing may or may not line up with this week's partial lunar eclipse.
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Stargazing
A Solar 'Rope' Is Headed Our Way: Glancing CME Could Spark Aurora Aug. 17
A filament eruption on the Sun has launched a coronal mass ejection toward Earth, and NOAA forecasters expect a glancing blow late Aug. 17 that could push aurora into the northern-tier U.S. and similar latitudes down south.
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Stargazing
A G2 Storm Just Hit — and NOAA Says Another CME Arrives on Eclipse Day
After a Kp 6 storm lit up Scotland-latitude skies on August 8, NOAA's new forecast calls G1 storming likely on August 12 — the same day as the Greenland-Iceland-Spain total eclipse and the Perseids' ramp-up — raising the improbable prospect of auroras during totality.
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Stargazing
A Fresh Flare and Two Inbound CMEs Set Up a G1 Aurora Watch for August 1-2
Two glancing-blow CMEs and a new M1.9 flare have NOAA forecasting a 25-30% chance of minor G1 geomagnetic storming August 1-2, with best US viewing odds in the northern tier — though a near-full Moon will blunt the show.
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Astronomy
The Sun Fired Two Eruptions at Once, and One Just Missed Us
A central-meridian filament blast and a far-side prominence erupted in near-perfect sync on July 28, while AR4494 kept flaring and a G1 storm carried over from an incoming CME due July 30.
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Stargazing
The Sun Stirs Again: Sunspot AR4494 Fires an M3 Flare as Three Regions Crackle Into Late July
Sunspot AR4494 threw an M3.2 flare on July 26 while regions 4495 and 4496 added C-class pops. Earth's magnetic field stayed quiet, but forecasters put the odds at 45% for another M-flare and 10% for an X-flare over the next 24-48 hours.
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Science & Discovery
A Fresh Sunspot and an Incoming Coronal-Hole Wind Set Up a G1 Aurora Window for July 21-22
New sunspot AR4493 fired an M3.4 flare and 17 others in 24 hours as a fast coronal-hole wind stream heads for Earth, setting up a G1 geomagnetic storm and aurora chances July 21-22.
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Commercial
Washington Weighs a 'Light-Touch' Rulebook for Space Businesses No One Regulates Yet
A House subcommittee grilled the Office of Space Commerce on its plan for a single opt-in "Space Commerce Certification" to fast-track approval of orbital manufacturing, satellite servicing, and lunar ventures that fall outside FAA and FCC authority.
