CORONAL MASS EJECTIONCME

Coronal mass ejection toward Earth, October 16, 2026

Arrival forecast
Map: Coronal mass ejection toward Earth, October 16, 2026

A coronal mass ejection, a billion-ton cloud of magnetized gas, left the Sun on October 16, 2026 at 12:38 UTC, moving at about 247 km/s (0.6 million mph). NASA’s model forecast it to deliver a glancing blow to Earth around Tuesday, October 20 at 18:00 UTC, plus or minus several hours. In the model’s strongest scenario it pushes the K index to 4, below storm level.

Left the SunOct 16 12:38 UTC
Speed247 km/s
Arrival (model)Oct 20 18:00 UTC
Glancing blowYes
Kp forecastup to 4
Travel time101 hours
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What happens when it arrives

If the cloud’s magnetic field points south when it hits, it can couple with Earth’s and set off a geomagnetic storm: auroras far from the poles, and in strong storms trouble for power grids, satellites and GPS. Arrival times are model forecasts and are often off by six hours or more. Live outlook: aurora forecast.

Did you know?

The Carrington Event. In 1859 the strongest geomagnetic storm on record lit up auroras as far south as the Caribbean and made telegraph lines spark.

Data: NASA DONKI (WSA-ENLIL model).

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