 | | | Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica Credit: NOAA/Ovation  Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 2.33 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 3.00 quiet
explanation | more data
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 8.12 nT
Bz: 3.95 nT north
more data: ACE, DSCOVR
Updated: Today at 1147 UT Coronal Holes: 20 Jun 25 
Earth is inside a stream of solar wind flowing from this large southern coronal hole. Credit: NASA/SDO | more data  Polar Stratospheric Clouds
Colorful Type II polar stratospheric clouds (PSC) form when the temperature in the stratosphere drops to a staggeringly low -85C. NASA's MERRA-2 climate model predicts when the air up there is cold enough: 
On Jun 20, 2025, the Arctic stratosphere is much too hot for polar stratospheric clouds. | more data. Noctilucent Clouds
The northern season for noctilucent clouds has begin. First reports of the electric-blue clouds came from Russia on May 28, 2025. Since then, the clouds have spread to lower latitudes with one possible sighting in southern Italy on June 3, 2025.
Above: June 17, 2025, in Poland
"How exciting to observe noctilucent clouds," says photographer of Marek Nikodem of Szubin, Poland. "Last night, for the first time this year, a large and bright display was visible. Wave III structures dominated. You could say: finally, the time has come! "
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts | | Updated at: 2025 Jun 19 2200 UTC FLARE | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | CLASS M | 65 % | 65 % | CLASS X | 15 % | 15 % | Geomagnetic Storms:
Probabilities for significant disturbances in Earth's magnetic field are given for three activity levels: active, minor storm, severe storm Updated at: 2025 Jun 19 2200 UTC Mid-latitudes | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | ACTIVE | 35 % | 20 % | MINOR | 25 % | 05 % | SEVERE | 05 % | 01 % | High latitudes | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | ACTIVE | 10 % | 15 % | MINOR | 25 % | 30 % | SEVERE | 65 % | 25 % | | | |  | | | | | | | | | | | This is an AI Free Zone: AI isn't all bad. Large language models are good writers with access to vast stores of data. There's still no substitute for a human being with decades of space weather forecasting experience. This website is 100% human. | | | TODAY IS THE SOLSTICE: Whichever hemisphere you live in -- today is the solstice. For northerners, it is the summer solstice; for southerners, the winter solstice. Northern summer and southern winter begin at precisely the same time: 10:42 p.m. EDT on June 20th (02:42 UTC on June 21st). Happy Solstice! SOLSTICE SOLAR FLARES: As the solstice sun hangs high in the skies of the northern hemisphere, our planet is getting hit by solar flares. In the past week there have been two X-class, one near-X, and dozens of lesser flares: 
Each of the spikes in the graph above represents a pulse of X-radiation hitting Earth's upper atmosphere, ionizing the air at the edge of space. This has caused a rolling series of shortwave radio communication blackouts around our planet. The deepest blackouts occured on June 15th (North America), June 17th (Hawaii) and June 19-20th (Hawaii). During those events, ham radio operators would have noticed loss of signal at frequencies below 25 MHz. As northern summer begins, the flares are set to continue. Their source is unstable sunspot 4114, which will remain on the Earthside of the sun for a few more days before it disappears over the sun's western limb. Dates of special interest include June 23-24, when the sunspot will be magnetically connected to Earth via the Parker Spiral. Any flares around that time will accelerate energetic protons directly toward our planet and could spark a solar radiation storm. Would you like an instant text message when strong flares are underway? Sign up for our Space Weather Alert Service. Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter SILVER SAPPHIRE SPACE PENDANT: It has just returned from the edge of space: The Silver Sapphire Space Pendant. Using a cosmic ray research balloon, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched it to the stratosphere on June 19, 2025: 
You can have it for $219.95. Engraved with the words "I love you always and forever", this sterling silver pendant has a heart-shaped sapphire in the middle surrouunded by a ring of glittering 5A cubic zirconia nuggets. It is a visually striking necklace perfect for anniversaries and romantic birthdays. The students are selling space pendants to pay the helium bill for their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the jewelry in flight and telling the story of its trip to the stratosphere 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
Realtime Noctilucent Cloud Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter 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 Jun 20, 2025, 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] 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 June 20, 2025 there were 2349 potentially hazardous asteroids.
 | Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters: | Asteroid | Date(UT) | Miss Distance | Velocity (km/s) | Diameter (m) | | 2023 XO15 | 2025-Jun-15 | 17.8 LD | 3.4 | 24 | | 2025 LD1 | 2025-Jun-15 | 0.6 LD | 12.4 | 10 | | 2025 HN6 | 2025-Jun-16 | 6.4 LD | 2.3 | 23 | | 2025 MG | 2025-Jun-16 | 1.1 LD | 29.5 | 9 | | 2025 MJ | 2025-Jun-16 | 12 LD | 8.3 | 39 | | 2025 MC | 2025-Jun-17 | 0.5 LD | 8.6 | 7 | | 2000 LF3 | 2025-Jun-17 | 18.9 LD | 14.5 | 169 | | 2023 XU2 | 2025-Jun-18 | 11.1 LD | 15.6 | 32 | | 2025 MB | 2025-Jun-18 | 0.4 LD | 7.6 | 4 | | 2025 MA | 2025-Jun-18 | 2.6 LD | 9.2 | 19 | | 2025 KT6 | 2025-Jun-19 | 7.1 LD | 9.2 | 70 | | 2025 MK | 2025-Jun-21 | 14.6 LD | 12.3 | 28 | | 2025 MR | 2025-Jun-21 | 5 LD | 10.8 | 44 | | 2025 LC1 | 2025-Jun-21 | 10.8 LD | 8 | 31 | | 2003 AY2 | 2025-Jun-22 | 14.2 LD | 15.9 | 386 | | 2025 MP | 2025-Jun-23 | 8 LD | 14.6 | 37 | | 2025 LT | 2025-Jun-23 | 3.4 LD | 14.5 | 48 | | 2014 DH | 2025-Jun-28 | 17.1 LD | 12.1 | 17 | | 2025 ML | 2025-Jun-28 | 6.6 LD | 11.6 | 26 | | 2025 MM | 2025-Jul-01 | 5.4 LD | 10.7 | 38 | | 2025 MO | 2025-Jul-07 | 6.7 LD | 4.6 | 9 | | 2019 JM | 2025-Jul-09 | 16.6 LD | 6.9 | 14 | | 2019 NW5 | 2025-Jul-09 | 15.2 LD | 16.5 | 65 | | 2005 VO5 | 2025-Jul-11 | 15.9 LD | 14.4 | 382 | | 2022 YS5 | 2025-Jul-17 | 17.4 LD | 6.1 | 38 | | 2018 BY6 | 2025-Jul-19 | 13.7 LD | 7.4 | 69 | | 2019 CO1 | 2025-Aug-08 | 17.8 LD | 10.5 | 65 | | 2022 QB1 | 2025-Aug-10 | 8.9 LD | 3.9 | 6 | | 2021 PJ1 | 2025-Aug-15 | 4.4 LD | 9.3 | 24 | | 2025 CO3 | 2025-Aug-16 | 19.8 LD | 8.4 | 90 | 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. | | The official U.S. government space weather bureau | | | The first place to look for information about sundogs, pillars, rainbows and related phenomena. | | | Researchers call it a "Hubble for the sun." SDO is the most advanced solar observatory ever. | | | 3D views of the sun from NASA's Solar and Terrestrial Relations Observatory | | | Realtime and archival images of the Sun from SOHO. | | | information about sunspots based on the latest NOAA/USAF Active Region Summary | | | current counts of failed and deployed Starlink satellites from Jonathan's Space Page. See also, all satellite statistics. | | | Authoritative predictions of space junk and satellite re-entries | | | from the NOAA Space Environment Center | | | fun to read, but should be taken with a grain of salt! Forecasts looking ahead more than a few days are often wrong. | | | from the NOAA Space Environment Center | | | the underlying science of space weather |  | Got a chipped or cracked windshield that prevents you from seeing space weather events while driving? Get windshield replacement from SR Windows & Glass with free mobile auto glass service anywhere in the Phoenix area. | | BestCSGOGambling is the best site for everything related to CSGO gambling on the web | | | These links help Spaceweather.com stay online. Thank you to our supporters! | | | | | | | | |  | | |  | ©2021 Spaceweather.com. All rights reserved. This site is penned daily by Dr. Tony Phillips. | |
