Forget my dreams of a slow news week. This week, there was big news in the sky as well, and the gods know what all has been happening on Earth.
So here's a soundtrack.
And here's the big sky news.
"Second megaflare," of course, implies we've already had a first megaflare.
Getting some really wild aurorae.
A pilot just flew through one of the strongest aurora storms in years — and saw the sky explode in color.
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) January 23, 2026
From the cockpit of a Boeing 787, pilot Matt Melnyk had a view like no one else. Flying at 37,000 feet over Manitoba, he watched as the auroras filled the entire sky. pic.twitter.com/quqL1xgHes
I live downtown, so I didn't see it, even though Wichita was at least on the edge of it all. But I have folks in Alaska. I'm a little jealous.
🚨: 93 million miles away, the Sun erupted. Days later, this is the result in an Alaskan driveway.pic.twitter.com/nOHuzr0CPr
— Curiosity (@MAstronomers) January 22, 2026
Paging Danerys.
"Enter The Dragon"
— Harlan Thomas (@theauroraguy) January 22, 2026
Jumping Pound AB, 20260121T0647Z
This image was taken during the 3rd substorm, my camera is pointing towards the Southern Zenith, image was taken with my astro-modded D810 with a Laowa 12mm no distortion lens. I was shooting at F2.8, ISO 5000 for 5 seconds.… pic.twitter.com/VZiogMvZ4I
Cool from above, too.
This is what Auroras look like from orbit! pic.twitter.com/yIRXJb44LZ
— Curiosity (@MAstronomers) January 21, 2026
More from Alaska.
Just had to share this video I just downloaded from my camera of the INSANE pulsating aurora last night in Fairbanks, Alaska. Mesmerizing to see the sky light up like this. The video is not sped up at all and the pulsations were easily visible to the naked eye. pic.twitter.com/ATqtSTVjmY
— Vincent Ledvina (@Vincent_Ledvina) January 21, 2026
Still pictures don't tell the whole story.
Perhaps the clearest example of "flickering aurora" that I have captured occured last night over Fairbanks. Take a look at the auroral arc in this clip. You can see the arc "jittering..." these are really 15-20 hz pulsations and are not a trick of the eye! pic.twitter.com/gDYxqCmDZS
— Vincent Ledvina (@Vincent_Ledvina) January 22, 2026
I'd love to see this too, but it's even harder to get here than Fairbanks.
Insane Auroras seen from Spacepic.twitter.com/Jm2HnOV5xl
— Curiosity (@MAstronomers) January 20, 2026
The truth is, if this were in a science fiction movie, people would say it's bad special effects.
Absolutely stunning footage of last night’s geomagnetic storm as seen from the ISS.
— Volcaholic 🌋 (@volcaholic1) January 20, 2026
Russian cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov said it was like flying straight through them.pic.twitter.com/OrQko80SMc
A little from Colorado.
I *cannot* believe this was real. These colors were real. I've never seen such a deep blue Aurora before. I've seen blue Aurora, but my goodness this was something else. What a beautiful night.
— Hunte☈ Fowkes (@StrmchsrHunterF) January 20, 2026
Oh, and yes, the snow is purple from the Aurora light reflection, I kid you not.… pic.twitter.com/tzh1OWxnAy
And from Stonehenge.
Absolute beast of an Aurora over Stonehenge last night 🤩😍😲 Photo credit Nick Bull 🙏#aurora #northernlights #auroraborealis #winter #January #astro #solarstorm pic.twitter.com/JiuQgTLiXm
— Stonehenge U.K (@ST0NEHENGE) January 20, 2026
And another kind of solar storm.
It’s hard to find something quite so fascinating as a dying star
— Andrew McCarthy (@AJamesMcCarthy) January 23, 2026
This photo was captured using a relatively cheap telescope from my light-polluted backyard. pic.twitter.com/kgt1W5IDLA
News up to the minute. Except for the speed of light.
We just saw the exact moment a star exploded for the first time ever.
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) January 19, 2026
Astronomers have achieved a rare feat: imaging the exact moment a massive star detonated—and the explosion was anything but spherical.
SN 2024ggi, a supernova located 22 million light-years away in the spiral… pic.twitter.com/NOnBlDVnOv
There have been some other things happening.
🚨: This isn't an aerial photo taken by a helicopter or drone. This is a high-resolution satellite image taken from orbit, looking down at the Artemis I rocket as it prepares to leave Earth.
— Curiosity (@MAstronomers) January 21, 2026
Technology looking at technology. pic.twitter.com/GSfl7jaS8t
This looks like it must have been faked, but apparently not.
Impressive Kelvin Helmholtz waves this morning at Elmira NY… photo from Rene Hodge pic.twitter.com/xUj0VZEnFU
— James Spann (@spann) January 21, 2026
Do you know the song "From a Distance"?
This is what the eruption of the volcano looks like from the ISS 🌋 pic.twitter.com/ydUq4Kc5dR
— Curiosity (@MAstronomers) January 18, 2026
Lightning — or aliens?
One of the most mysterious weather phenomena on Earth: meet the sprites pic.twitter.com/oLDlooyMvL
— Nature is Amazing ☘️ (@AMAZlNGNATURE) December 17, 2025
More sprites.
🚨: Photographer captures Andromeda galaxy and red sprites in one frame😮
— Night Sky Today (@NightSkyToday) November 21, 2025
📷: ig/nature.by.jj pic.twitter.com/GIUfzrIFSe
And a little history.
July 20 1969
— ustonymc (@ustonymc) January 22, 2026
Stephen and Viola Armstrong watch their son Neil land on the moon. pic.twitter.com/zKVMw7mlj7
Someday, there will be a memorial in Luna City.
On @NASA's #DayofRemembrance, we honor those who lost their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery.
— National Air and Space Museum (@airandspace) January 22, 2026
We join NASA in remembering the crews of Apollo 1, Space Shuttle Challenger (STS-51L), and Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-107). pic.twitter.com/T5X9A0QoMB
And that's it for this week. Hope you like it; comments, as always, are appreciated.
