Flares
The Sun flashes. Radios can hiss or go quiet.
Space tonight
What can you see tonight?
Some nights have shooting stars. Some days the Sun acts up. Learn the words, then go outside.
Tonight’s mission: the Big Dipper
Tick each step when you see it.
Last checked: September 30, 2026
From NOAA, when you opened this page
Space weather right now
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NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (opens in a new tab)What space weather means
Particles
Fast bits from the Sun. People on airplanes near the poles, and people in space, care first.
Aurora
When the G number climbs, green and red lights are more likely up north. Clouds can hide them.
The Moon’s shapes
The Moon does not grow. We see different amounts of its sunlit half. New, crescent, quarter, gibbous, full, then back again. About 29 and a half days.
New
0% lit, a sketch
Crescent
25% lit, a sketch
Quarter
50% lit, a sketch
Gibbous
75% lit, a sketch
Full
100% lit, a sketch
One shape that stays up
The Big Dipper is seven stars. The two at the end of the cup point to the North Star. It is not the brightest star. It is the one that stays north.
Next meteor showers
Hourly rates are for a dark sky with the shower high overhead. A bright Moon or a city street cuts that number hard. The American Meteor Society calendar is the one to recheck the same week.
Draconids
Evening of October 8 into October 9, 2026
Often about 10 an hour under a dark sky. Some years jump. Most years do not.
Moon. A thin Moon, out of the way for the evening.
Best in the evening, which is unusual. Look north. You do not need a telescope.
Orionids
Night of October 21–22, 2026
About 10 to 20 an hour in a normal year, if the sky is dark.
Moon. A bright gibbous Moon, about three-quarters lit. Faint meteors disappear.
After midnight, when Orion is up. Debris from Halley’s Comet.
Southern Taurids
Fireballs around November 4–5, 2026
Few per hour. Slow, and sometimes very bright.
Moon. A slim crescent, about one-fifth lit. A good Moon for this one.
The shower is active from late September. Low numbers, worth it for a fireball.
Northern Taurids
Night of November 11–12, 2026
Also sparse. Brighter streaks are the point.
Moon. A very thin crescent, about 5 percent lit.
Late October and early November can mix both Taurid branches.
Leonids
Night of November 16–17, 2026
Usually modest, not a storm. Storm years are rare, and 2026 is not one of them.
Moon. A first-quarter Moon, about 40 percent lit. It sets, and the later hours are darker.
Fast meteors. After midnight is better.
Geminids
Night of December 13–14, 2026
The strong shower of the year. A dark sky can show well over a hundred an hour. A city shows fewer.
Moon. A waxing crescent, about 18 percent lit. Favorable.
Good even before midnight. Often bright. Parent of the dust is the asteroid 3200 Phaethon.
Ursids
Night of December 21–22, 2026
About 5 to 10 an hour. Northern sky only.
Moon. A bright Moon, about 90 percent lit. Only the brighter streaks show.
Easy to skip because it falls near Christmas, a week after the Geminids.
Quadrantids
Night of January 3–4, 2027
Can be strong, but the peak lasts only a few hours. A dark-sky average is closer to 25 an hour if you miss the spike.
Moon. A thin waning crescent, about 15 percent lit.
The predicted spike is near 3:30 UTC on January 4, which favors Europe and western Asia more than the western United States.
Eclipses after this page
Annular solar eclipse
February 6, 2027
A ring of sunlight over parts of Chile, Argentina, and the Atlantic, for up to about 8 minutes. This is not a United States show.
Never look at the Sun without eclipse glasses made for it. Sunglasses are not enough.
Penumbral lunar eclipse
February 20, 2027
A faint shading of the Moon, visible from the Americas among other places. Easy to miss. There is no “blood moon” this night.
A lunar eclipse is safe to look at. You are looking at the Moon, not the Sun.
Penumbral lunar eclipse
July 18, 2027
Another subtle shading, mainly for the Pacific and the Americas. Do not expect a dark red Moon.
Safe for eyes. A shadow this faint may not look like much.
Total solar eclipse
August 2, 2027
Totality crosses southern Spain, North Africa, Egypt, and the Arabian Peninsula, up to about 6 minutes. Not a show for most of the United States. A brief partial at sunrise may reach parts of northeastern Canada. Use NASA’s map before you travel.
Glasses for every partial minute. Take them off only if you are inside the path of totality and the Sun is fully covered, then put them back on.
Penumbral lunar eclipse
August 17, 2027
Subtle again, and aimed more at Africa, Asia, and Australia than at the Americas.
Safe to look at. Still easy to miss.
NASA eclipse site · maps, not this page, if you are traveling.
Outside with a child
- Give your eyes about 20 minutes away from porch lights.
- A meteor shower needs no telescope. Look at a wide patch of sky, not one star.
- Count out loud. A small number is still a real night.
- For the Sun, eclipse glasses only. Never binoculars pointed at the Sun.
- Write it down on a sheet you can download.