-- News And Information About Meteor Showers ...

Solar wind speed: 483.7 km/sec density: 5.13 protons/cm3 more data: ACE, DSCOVR Updated: Today at 0416 UT
X-ray Solar Flares 6-hr max: B5 1216 UT Feb20 24-hr: C2 0307 UT Feb20 explanation | more data Updated: Today at: 1620 UT
Daily Sun: 20 Feb 26 Expand: labels | no labels Strong solar flares are unlikely today. All of these sunspots have simple, stable magnetic fields. Credit: NASA/SDO Sunspot number: 39 What is the sunspot number? Updated 20 Feb 2026
Current Auroral Oval:
Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica Credit: NOAA/Ovation
Planetary K-index Now: Kp= 2.67 quiet 24-hr max: Kp= 2.67 quiet explanation | more data
Interplanetary Mag. Field Btotal: 7.09 nT Bz: 0.05 nT north more data: ACE, DSCOVR Updated: Today at 0416 UT
Coronal Holes: 20 Feb 26
Solar wind flowing from this coronal hole should reach Earth on Feb. 24th. Credit: NASA/SDO | more data

Spotless Days Current Stretch: 0 days 2026 total: 0 days (0%) 2025 total: 0 days (0%) 2024 total: 0 days (0%) 2023 total: 0 days (0%) 2022 total: 1 day (<1%) 2021 total: 64 days (18%) 2020 total: 208 days (57%) 2019 total: 281 days (77%) 2018 total: 221 days (61%) 2017 total: 104 days (28%) 2016 total: 32 days (9%) 2015 total: 0 days (0%) 2014 total: 1 day (<1%) 2013 total: 0 days (0%) 2012 total: 0 days (0%) 2011 total: 2 days (<1%) 2010 total: 51 days (14%) 2009 total: 260 days (71%) 2008 total: 268 days (73%) 2007 total: 152 days (42%) 2006 total: 70 days (19%) Updated 20 Feb 2026Thermosphere Climate Index today: 21.47x1010 W Warm Max: 49.4x1010 W Hot (10/1957) Min: 2.05x1010 W Cold (02/2009) explanation | more data: gfx, txt Updated 20 Feb 2026

The Radio Sun 10.7 cm flux: 119 sfu explanation | more data Updated 19 Feb 2026

Cosmic Rays Solar Cycle 25 is near its peak, and this is reflected in the number of cosmic rays entering Earth's atmosphere. Neutron counts from the University of Oulu's Sodankyla Geophysical Observatory show that cosmic rays reaching Earth are slowly declining--a result of the yin-yang relationship between the solar cycle and cosmic rays. Oulu Neutron Counts Percentages of the Space Age average: today: -8.3% Low 48-hr change: -0.2% Max: +11.7% Very High (12/2009) Min: -32.1% Very Low (06/1991) explanation |more data Updated 19 Feb 2026 @ 0700 UT

SPACE WEATHER NOAA Forecasts
Updated at: 2026 Feb 19 2200 UTC
FLARE 0-24 hr 24-48 hr
CLASS M 10 % 10 %
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 Feb 19 2200 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr 24-48 hr
ACTIVE 20 % 10 %
MINOR 05 % 01 %
SEVERE 01 % 01 %
High latitudes
0-24 hr 24-48 hr
ACTIVE 15 % 15 %
MINOR 25 % 20 %
SEVERE 25 % 10 %
Friday, Feb. 20, 2026
What's up in space

This is an AI Free Zone: Text created by Large Language Models is spreading across the Internet. It's well-written, but frequently inaccurate. If you find a mistake on Spaceweather.com, rest assured it was made by a real human being.

MARTIAN SUNSPOTS: Almost no sunspots are facing Earth. However, several big ones are facing Mars. Today's sun photo from Mars rover Perseverance shows multiple sunspot groups including old friend AR4366, which unleashed six X-flares in early February. These Martian sunspots will turn to face Earth next week. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text

THESE ARE NOT AURORAS: Montana is a good place to see auroras, so on Feb 17th when Jane Horton of Helena MT saw towering lights in the night sky, she naturally wondered. "Are these auroras?" Not exactly:

These are light pillars caused by city lights shining into freezing air. Ice crystals catch the rays of urban bulbs and spread them into luminous vertical columns. Light pillars are a common sight in northern cities during winter.

"At the time, the air temperature was 12 degrees Fahrenheit and dropping," she says."The pillars were very bright white, and lasted for about an hour."

Light pillars can resemble auroras, but they have nothing to do with solar flares or CMEs. The only ingredients are ice and light pollution.

Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter

PLANETS PASSING IN THE NIGHT: On Feb. 18th, the whisker-thin crescent Moon had a rare close encounter with Mercury in the sunset sky. Augusto Gallardo Quesada photographed the conjunction from Gibara, Holguín, Cuba:

"The clear sky at sunset treated us to a great view," says Quesada. "The thin crescent Moon appeared very close to the planet Mercury, shining together in the twilight. It was a night to remember."

Shortly after Quesada took the picture, Mercury vanished. It passed behind the dark limb of the Moon and remained invisible for more than half an hour. This "lunar occultation" was also photographed across 10 southern US states and Mexico.

more images: from Andres Páez Joannis of Chihuahua, Mexico; from Fabrizio Melandri of Sallisaw, Oklahoma; from John Ashley of Rio Rico, Arizona; from Aldo Agustin Paredes Romero of Mexico City, Mexico; from Dr. Gilbert Plumer of Rockledge, Florida; from Bob Beal of St. George, Utah

Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter

THE COSMIC CROWBAR: No toolkit is complete without one: A crowbar from space! On Dec. 24, 2025, the Cosmic Crowbar hitched a ride to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon. At the apex of the flight, it floated 112,222 feet above central California:

You can have it for $97.95. This 15-inch steel bar is light enough to fly on a balloon, yet strong enough to pull out nails and pry apart old carpentry. Bright red paint makes it hard to misplace, while the ends are unpainted to avoid marking work surfaces.

The Cosmic Crowbar comes with a card showing the tool floating at the top of Earth's atmosphere. The interior of the card tells the story of the flight and confirms that this gift has been to the edge of space and back again.

Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store All sales support hands-on STEM education

Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter

All Sky Fireball Network
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 Feb. 19 2026, the network reported 5 fireballs. (5 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]

Near Earth Asteroids
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 February 20, 2026 there were 2349 potentially hazardous asteroids.
Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid Date(UT) Miss Distance Velocity (km/s) Diameter (m)
2026 CF3 2026-Feb-14 3.1 LD 7.7 20
2026 DA 2026-Feb-14 3.6 LD 9.7 9
2026 CA4 2026-Feb-14 7.7 LD 7.2 17
1999 AO10 2026-Feb-14 10.5 LD 2.7 59
2026 DN 2026-Feb-14 1.8 LD 14.2 18
162882 2026-Feb-14 17 LD 19.2 626
2026 BE7 2026-Feb-14 19.5 LD 10.2 56
2026 DF 2026-Feb-15 12.1 LD 11.5 20
2026 CS3 2026-Feb-15 11.7 LD 8.1 15
2026 CV3 2026-Feb-15 0.7 LD 5.4 3
2026 DO 2026-Feb-16 3.8 LD 5.7 10
2026 BX4 2026-Feb-16 7.7 LD 10.5 223
2026 CR2 2026-Feb-17 0.4 LD 5.6 3
2026 DB 2026-Feb-17 0.6 LD 12 8
2026 DL 2026-Feb-17 6.3 LD 6.8 31
2026 AJ17 2026-Feb-17 17.4 LD 6.1 33
2026 CU 2026-Feb-18 5.4 LD 8 25
2023 CM2 2026-Feb-19 10.1 LD 11.9 22
2026 CA2 2026-Feb-19 11.1 LD 8.8 34
2026 CZ3 2026-Feb-20 6.7 LD 17.8 27
2026 BQ8 2026-Feb-20 12.2 LD 6.2 68
2026 CO 2026-Feb-20 4.5 LD 7.5 27
2026 AH17 2026-Feb-20 11.3 LD 7.3 80
2025 YU15 2026-Feb-21 15.4 LD 9.5 132
2025 DQ 2026-Feb-21 3 LD 6.8 4
2007 DB61 2026-Feb-21 9 LD 8.8 65
2026 CQ4 2026-Feb-22 8.8 LD 6.3 11
2026 DH 2026-Feb-22 9.5 LD 11.4 14
2026 CN3 2026-Feb-22 8.6 LD 20.6 34
2026 AM4 2026-Feb-22 17.4 LD 3.1 32
2026 DK 2026-Feb-22 2.7 LD 14.4 21
2026 DJ 2026-Feb-22 7.4 LD 12.6 14
2026 CJ1 2026-Feb-23 13.8 LD 7.2 25
2026 CW2 2026-Feb-23 14.6 LD 8.6 28
2012 XF55 2026-Feb-23 16.3 LD 4 98
2026 BM8 2026-Feb-23 13.3 LD 6.4 35
2022 EZ6 2026-Feb-24 11.6 LD 6.9 73
2018 RB1 2026-Feb-24 8.3 LD 7.9 9
2026 CU1 2026-Feb-26 3.2 LD 8.4 44
2011 CL50 2026-Feb-27 13.4 LD 4.5 12
2026 CR4 2026-Feb-27 10.6 LD 17.3 53
2020 FV4 2026-Feb-27 16.3 LD 8.7 30
2007 DG8 2026-Feb-28 10 LD 9.9 32
2011 EH17 2026-Mar-02 15.8 LD 16.5 39
2026 CB3 2026-Mar-03 13.9 LD 9 33
2026 CD1 2026-Mar-03 6.4 LD 10.8 58
2021 ER 2026-Mar-06 6.3 LD 4 14
2017 BM123 2026-Mar-06 19.9 LD 7.2 61
2012 DF31 2026-Mar-08 13.4 LD 16 43
2020 GE 2026-Mar-09 16.1 LD 1.3 8
2025 EK4 2026-Mar-10 14.7 LD 10 55
2021 BW1 2026-Mar-10 14.2 LD 4.1 18
2023 ET2 2026-Mar-11 7.8 LD 12.7 3
2026 CC3 2026-Mar-11 4.1 LD 1.7 12
2025 DP3 2026-Mar-11 9.4 LD 9.1 27
2007 EG 2026-Mar-15 4.5 LD 7.8 44
2026 CR3 2026-Mar-16 19.5 LD 9.1 77
2015 VO142 2026-Mar-17 2.7 LD 3.1 6
2021 FS 2026-Mar-18 18.2 LD 7.2 9
2010 RA91 2026-Mar-22 4.7 LD 9.9 68
2022 FY 2026-Mar-24 10.1 LD 6.5 9
2025 SP20 2026-Mar-25 18.8 LD 11 12
2025 GL 2026-Apr-03 9.8 LD 6.4 5
2019 FQ1 2026-Apr-03 9.6 LD 10.1 13
2023 DZ2 2026-Apr-04 2.6 LD 7.2 50
2021 GN6 2026-Apr-06 5.8 LD 7 14
2024 TB7 2026-Apr-07 4.9 LD 7.5 5
2002 TB70 2026-Apr-07 13.4 LD 9.2 162
2022 GE2 2026-Apr-10 12 LD 9.2 15
2023 HB4 2026-Apr-12 16.8 LD 8.7 15
2013 GM3 2026-Apr-14 0.7 LD 7.4 20
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.

Essential web links
NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center
The official U.S. government space weather bureau
Atmospheric Optics
The first place to look for information about sundogs, pillars, rainbows and related phenomena.
Solar Dynamics Observatory
Researchers call it a "Hubble for the sun." SDO is the most advanced solar observatory ever.
STEREO
3D views of the sun from NASA's Solar and Terrestrial Relations Observatory
Solar and Heliospheric Observatory
Realtime and archival images of the Sun from SOHO.
SolarMonitor.org
information about sunspots based on the latest NOAA/USAF Active Region Summary
Starlink Satellite Statistics
current counts of failed and deployed Starlink satellites from Jonathan's Space Page. See also, all satellite statistics.
The Aerospace Corporation
Authoritative predictions of space junk and satellite re-entries
Daily Sunspot Summaries
from the NOAA Space Environment Center
NOAA 27-Day Space Weather Forecasts
fun to read, but should be taken with a grain of salt! Forecasts looking ahead more than a few days are often wrong.
Aurora 30 min forecast
from the NOAA Space Environment Center
Live Aurora Webcam
from Lights over Lapland
Heliophysics
the underlying science of space weather

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NASA Near Earth Asteroid Home Page
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