iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Christian Möstl @chrisoutofspace.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Amazing new reconstruction of sunspot number for the last ~1000 years by Saha et al. 2026: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Sunspot number since the year 971, showing several long minima and the recent, more regular solar cycles

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Christian Möstl @chrisoutofspace.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Thank you - very ver faint though, this was a slow solar storm that caused a minor geomagnetic storm with a minimum 2026 Aug 8 2300 UTC of Dst -65 nT, exactly what we would expect for a borderline photographic aurora observation at mid latitudes.

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Christian Möstl @chrisoutofspace.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Um diese Uhrzeit - wie hoch wird das noch, 41? Wirklich irre.

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Reposted by Christian Möstl

Jasmine 🌌🔭 @astrojaz.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

i’m obsessed with this very specific genre of photo

A color photograph looking outward through the interior of a spacecraft toward a thin crescent Earth suspended in space. Dark structural elements of the spacecraft frame the view, with the window opening forming an irregular border around the planet. The illuminated crescent floats near the center of the image against a deep black sky. Reflections from the spacecraft interior and faint alignment markings are visible on the window, emphasizing that the photograph was taken from inside the spacecraft.

A color photograph of Earth’s curved horizon viewed through a circular spacecraft window. The dark window frame creates a round border around the scene, while Earth’s blue atmosphere, white cloud systems, and sunlit surface occupy the lower left portion of the view. The upper right portion fades into the blackness of space with a single bright point of light visible beyond Earth’s limb. The composition highlights both the spacecraft window and the planet beyond it.

A color photograph of a half-illuminated Moon viewed through a spacecraft window. The thick, multi-layered window frame surrounds the left and lower edges of the image, with alternating white, black, and reddish sealing rings visible around the glass. The cratered lunar surface is sharply lit against the blackness of space and appears centered in the window. A smaller, bright crescent Earth is visible near the right edge of the frame, while scattered stars and a few small reflections on the window glass appear throughout the dark background.

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Christian Möstl @chrisoutofspace.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

China's Tianwen-2 has first imaged asteroid Kamoʻoalewa, which is on a wide orbit around Earth 🌍 between 0.9 and 1.1 au, but tilted to the ecliptic by 8°. This is close to "distant retrograde orbits" for future space weather forecasting missions like @esa.int HENON. www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbbA...

Image by CNSA Tianwen-2 of asteroid Kamoʻoalewa

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Christian Möstl @chrisoutofspace.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

We had an amazing time at #solarwind17 in Bath / UK, learning about current solar wind science on all scales and presenting our work on solar storm forecasting and multispacecraft observations of their evolution. Plus a visit of Stonehenge and World Cup wins for England and Austria!

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Christian Möstl @chrisoutofspace.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

At the #SolarWind17 conference in Bath UK this week (after going through London Paddington station) - first sessions about solar wind small-scale physics and turbulence, and a tutorial on getting funding from the @erc.europa.eu!

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Christian Möstl @chrisoutofspace.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

Klar gabs dann noch ein Tor wobei das die Geschichte mit dem Liverpool Torhüter war der nicht mehr fit to play war …

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Christian Möstl @chrisoutofspace.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

Sehr spannend! Den Fallrückzieher von Bale 2018 im CL Finale gegen Liverpool würde ich noch hinzufügen (Tor zur 2:1 Führung) ⚽️

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Christian Möstl @chrisoutofspace.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

Looking at the recent #solarstorms that are expected to arrive at Earth 🌍 around late Thu June 4 (from early June 3), I am quite skeptical on their geomagnetic storm potential. The flares were of short duration, there are no clear halo CMEs and all eruptions a going mainly to north/south in LASCO.

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Christian Möstl @chrisoutofspace.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

Fun and productive week @issibern.ch with an ISSI team working on the connection between heliospheric and magnetospheric data and models for improved #spaceweather forecasts. Bonus: the @science.esa.int launch of SMILE 🚀! teams.issibern.ch/space-weathe...

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Christian Möstl @chrisoutofspace.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

Great that the @esa.int SMILE launch went so smooth, looking forward to the new images of the magnetopause and aurora! Always good to have another in situ monitor near Earth. I got to shortly comment on the technological effects of #spaceweather on Austrian national TV: on.orf.at/live?channel...

on.orf.at

ORF Live

Verpassen Sie nie wieder den Anfang einer Sendung: ORF 1, ORF 2, ORF III, ORF Sport + und ORF KIDS live sehen und bis zu 24 Stunden zurückspringen.

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Reposted by Christian Möstl

Seán Doran @theseaning.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

Earth eclipses the Sun as seen by Artemis II on Orion. Satellites showing off as usual...

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Christian Möstl @chrisoutofspace.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

Impressions from the @esa.int heliophysics modeling workshop this week at ESOC in Darmstadt - amazing to see a roundup of the #spaceweather modeling landscape, as well as the ESOC control rooms, and even a Rosetta/Philae spacecraft model in real size!

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Christian Möstl @chrisoutofspace.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

With the awesome NASA Eyes on the Solar System visualization eyes.nasa.gov one can see that during the #ARTEMIS2 launch the Moon should be inside the magnetosphere, but then moves to the west of the Sun-Earth line as the mission progresses.

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Christian Möstl @chrisoutofspace.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

The #solarstorm from March 30 has gone way off to the east of Earth (solar wind, left), so no problem for #ARTEMIS2. Fingers crossed🤞that during the 10 day journey to the moon a solar energetic particle (SEP) hazard does not occur - see data on the Jan 19 2026 event by the LRO spacecraft👇(right).

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Austrian Space Weather Office @aswogeosphere.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

We've been featured on Austrian national TV ORF2 in "Mayrs Magazin" roaming around Austria's magnetic Conrad observatory and talking about solar storms, with @chrisoutofspace.bsky.social and Veronika Haberle. The @esa.int HENON and Vigil missions were mentioned too! on.orf.at/video/143147...

on.orf.at

Sonnenstürme könnten Stromnetze lahmlegen - Mayrs Magazin - Wissen für alle vom 13.03.2026

Die Sonne befindet sich aktuell auf dem Höhepunkt ihres elfjährigen Zyklus. Dadurch treten Sonnenstürme häufiger auf, die Satelliten beschädigen und sogar Stromnetze gefährden können. Forscher des Spa...

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Christian Möstl @chrisoutofspace.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

spaceweather.com sometimes posts solar images from the #Mars Perseverance Rover camera MASTCAM-Z, in low but good enough resolution to see big sunspots (e.g. Feb 19 2026 below). Mars is currently on the opposite side of the Sun as seen from Earth. The images are here: mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/mul...

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Dr. Ryan French @ryanjfrench.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

BREAKING: This is Richard Carrington, the first person to document solar flares on the Sun & suggest their influence on aurora at Earth. The largest solar storm on record, the Carrington Event, bares his name. But, there has been no photograph available of Carrington – until now!

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Sonja Hartl @sonjahartl7.eurosky.social · 19/01/2026

Crazy 21:36 UTC Jan 19, 2026 Location Koralpe Austria 46N #Aurora #spaceweather @vincentledvina.bsky.social

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Christian Möstl @chrisoutofspace.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

Es könnte sein dass es in der früh nochmal stärker wird - aber irgendwie muss man nunmal von den Wolken weg ...

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Christian Möstl @chrisoutofspace.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

This solar cycle is so funny because whenever you think you don't know exactly what to do for the next paper or project these things happen.

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Reposted by Christian Möstl

Vincent Ledvina @vincentledvina.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

Wow! Here is the current view over Falkenberg, Germany! Quite amazing red aurora from this mid-latitude location. Europe get outside! go.theauroraguy.com/webcams

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Christian Möstl @chrisoutofspace.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

At this point we can call ourselves lucky because if this field would point southward we would be in a 1989 Quebec storm category (Dst almost -600 nT)! If the Bz stays > 0, high and mid-latitude aurora is still likely, but damaging effects on technical infrastructure are probably not significant.

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Christian Möstl @chrisoutofspace.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

This is likely the strongest near-Earth #solarwind magnetic field I have ever seen in my career - 90.6 nT total field, and perfectly northward 61.7 nT Bz component. If this is the main flux rope, the north and west pointing field is consistent with the right handed source region - Bz would stay > 0!

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Austrian Space Weather Office @aswogeosphere.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

A press story is out today (german) on our forecast for the chances for #aurora nights at mid-latitudes in 2026. We predict another 1-2 possible nights in 2026, as we expect 20-30 #solarstorm impacts at Earth 🌍 in 2026. ☀️ Solar cycle 25 is not done yet! ☀️ science.apa.at/power-search...

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Christian Möstl @chrisoutofspace.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

🤯 Very interesting study featured on spaceweather.com today about #solarstorms lowering satellite orbits and thus collision avoidance maneuvers are needed, in particular for satellite megaconstellations ➡️ #spaceweather may form a tipping point towards Kessler Syndrome. arxiv.org/abs/2512.09643

arxiv.org

An Orbital House of Cards: Frequent Megaconstellation Close Conjunctions

The number of objects in orbit is rapidly increasing, primarily driven by the launch of megaconstellations, an approach to satellite constellation design that involves large numbers of satellites pair...

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Reposted by Christian Möstl

ESA Operations @operations.esa.int · 08/12/2025

Check out the first poster in our new series: "Space Safety - in action!" Mission: Vigil Objective: Advanced warning of solar storms Unique feature: Location in deep space offers 'side-on' view of solar material heading towards Earth Launch: 2031 Download the poster at: www.esa.int/Space_Safety...

Stylised poster depicting spacecraft watching the Sun with Earth depicted below

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Christian Möstl @chrisoutofspace.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

My take away so far from discussions on the #Airbus software updates due to potential #spaceweather induced electronics upsets: the Sun ☀️ seems not responsible for the incident on October 30 (no significant eruptions on that day), but solar energetic particles could lead to similar failures.

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Prof Jim Wild @jim-wild.bsky.social · 28/11/2025

An interesting #spaceweather story developing. Airbus has made a statement saying that “Analysis of a recent event involving an A320 Family aircraft has revealed that intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls” www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Flights disrupted as Airbus requests modifications to thousands of planes

About 6,000 plans are thought to be affected, about half the European aerospace giant's global fleet.

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Christian Möstl @chrisoutofspace.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

We will hear more details in the coming days but it also looks like ESA Space Safety - with a highly ambitious program - was very well funded, and besides the Asteroid mission to Apophis in 2029 (once in a lifetime chance), eager to hear more about the #spacewather missions to be designed and built!

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Reposted by Christian Möstl

European Space Agency @esa.int · 24/11/2025

📺 Our Ministerial Council takes place this week, 26-27 November, in Bremen, Germany. Vital decisions will be made on Europe's future in space. You can follow events live on the days here! 👇 www.esa.int/About_Us/Min... Also check out our dedicated #CM25 website 👇 🔗 esa.int/CM25

esa.int

Follow CM25 online

The European Space Agency's Ministerial Council – more formally Council at Ministerial level – takes place in Bremen, Germany on 26 and 27 November 2025. 

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Christian Möstl @chrisoutofspace.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

Finally, Petra van Lommel taught us how to do space weather communication to the public without scientific terms - use the terms light / rain / wind! Aurora chaser MaryBeth Kiczenski (photos) provided perspectives for us researchers and forecasters to improve tools to make chases more fun! (3/3)

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Christian Möstl @chrisoutofspace.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

Then a discussion with @esa.int and NOAA on future data streams for #spaceweather, with sub-L1 measurements on distant retrograde orbits (ESA HENON and ESA SHIELD) attracting lots of attention. An ESA L3 mission concept may use Faraday rotation to remotely detect #solarstorm magnetic fields. (2/3)

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Christian Möstl @chrisoutofspace.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

Day 4 of #ESWW2025! @maikebauer.bsky.social + @lelouedecj.bsky.social presented posters on #solarstorm automatic detection and modeling to make life easier for forecasters. @hannahruedisser.bsky.social took part in a panel on the best practices and future use of AI in #spaceweather! 1/3

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Christian Möstl @chrisoutofspace.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

ARCANE with its ability to also detect high speed solar wind streams was also shown during the live #spaceweather forecast! Further, fascinating talks on geomagnetically induced currents in Sweden, Germany and New Zealand, and discussions on ESA space weather plans for the next few years. (2/2)

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Christian Möstl @chrisoutofspace.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

Day 3 at #ESWW2025! @hannahruedisser.bsky.social presented our automatic solar storm detection method ARCANE, combined with our models for the storm magnetic field (3DCORE) and arrival time (ELEvo), showcasing their power for real time application. (1/2)👇

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Christian Möstl @chrisoutofspace.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

Day 2 at #ESWW2025! @spacedavies.bsky.social rocked the stage with a talk on solar storm forecasts with sub-L1 monitors with @esa.int #SolarOrbiter. I participated in 2 panel discussion, on the role of validation, and the future of space weather modeling at ESA in the next 10-15 years. ☀️💥🤖

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Christian Möstl @chrisoutofspace.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

Some impressions from day one at #ESWW2025 including first poster presentations and big congrats to long-time collaborator Erika Palmerio @erikapal.bsky.social for receiving the Alexander Chizhevsky Medal for early career scientists!

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Christian Möstl @chrisoutofspace.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

Maria Federica Marcucci on the @esa.int M7 mission candidate "Plasma observatory", which would be an amazing mission to understand in high detail how the solar wind works on small scales and how it interacts with the 🌍 magnetosphere.

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