This is an AI Free Zone: Text created by Large Language Models is spreading across the Internet. It's well-written, but frequently inaccurate. If you find a mistake on Spaceweather.com, rest assured it was made by a real human being.
|
|
|
THE COUNTERINTUITIVE QUIET CONTINUES: Big sunspots usually produce big solar flares. This week, we've witnessed an exception to the rule. Giant sunspot 4079 has been strangely quiet, producing only a handful of puny C-class solar flares. If the quiet continues for a few more days, the sunspot will rotate off the sun's western limb without having caused any significant space weather. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
THE CENTENNIAL GLEISSBERG CYCLE: If you've been enjoying the auroras of Solar Cycle 25, we've got good news. The next few solar cycles could be even more intense--a result of the little-known phenomenon called the "Centennial Gleissberg Cycle."
You've probably heard of the 11-year sunspot cycle. The Gleissberg Cycle is a slower modulation, which suppresses sunspot numbers every 80 to 100 years. For the past ~10 years, the sun has been near a low point in this cycle, but this is about to change.
New research published in the journal Space Weather suggests that the Gleissberg Cycle is waking up again. If this is true, solar cycles for the next 50 years could become increasingly intense.
"We have been looking at protons in the South Atlantic Anomaly," explains the paper's lead author Kalvyn Adams, an astrophysics student at the University of Colorado. "These are particles from the sun that come unusually close to Earth because our planet's magnetic shield is weak over the south Atlantic Ocean."
Above: The South Atlantic Anomaly (blue) is a weak spot in Earth's magnetic field where particles from the sun can come relatively close to Earth [more]
It turns out that protons in the South Atlantic Anomaly are a "canary in a coal mine" for the Gleissberg Cycle. When these protons decrease, it means the Gleissberg Cycle is about to surge. "That's exactly what we found," says Adams. "The protons are clearly decreasing in measurements we obtained from NOAA's Polar Operational Environmental Satellites."
Protons in the South Atlantic Anomaly are just the latest in a growing body of evidence. Current sunspot counts are up; the sun's ultraviolet output has increased; and the overall level of solar activity in Solar Cycle 25 has exceeded forecasts. It all adds up to an upswing in the 100-year cycle.
It also means that Joan Feyman was right. Before she passed away in 2020, the pioneering solar physicist was a leading researcher of the Gleissberg Cycle. She firmly believed that the centennial oscillation was responsible for the remarkable weakness of Solar Cycle 24 (2012-2013)--the cycle just before the current Solar Cycle 25. In a seminal paper published in 2014, she argued that the minimum of the Gleissberg Cycle fell almost squarely on top of Solar Cycle 24, turning it into the weakest cycle in 100 years. However, the tide was about to turn.
The resurgence of the Gleissberg Cycle makes a clear prediction for the future: Solar Cycles 26 through 28 should be progressively intense. Solar Cycle 26, peaking in ~2036, would be stronger than current Solar Cycle 25, and so on. The projected maximum of the Gleissberg Cycle is around 2055, aligning more or less with Solar Cycle 28.
"With a major increase in launch rates, it'll be important to plan for changes to the space environment that thousands of satellites and spacecraft are flying through from all sides," says Adams. "Solar activity and particle fluxes could all be very different in the decades ahead."
For more information, read Adams's original research here.
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
CONSTELLATION CAT NIGHT LIGHT (CRYSTAL BALL): It's the most far-out feline night light ever--the Constellation Cat Crystal Ball. On April 23, 2025, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched it to the stratosphere onboard a giant helium balloon.
You can have it for $139.95. Outlined by stars in the style of an astronomical constellation, the laser-etched cat comes with an LED stand that produces a soothing glow for your bedside table. Also included: A unique greeting card shows the crystal ball in flight and tells the story of its journey to the edge of space.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
Realtime Comet 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 May 06, 2025, the network reported 8 fireballs.
(5 sporadics, 3 eta Aquarids)
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 May 7, 2025 there were 2349 potentially hazardous asteroids.
 |
Recent
& Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
| Asteroid |
Date(UT) |
Miss Distance |
Velocity (km/s) |
Diameter (m) |
| 2025 JF |
2025-May-01 |
0.5 LD |
22.7 |
7 |
| 2025 GT1 |
2025-May-01 |
11.2 LD |
11.1 |
36 |
| 2025 JB |
2025-May-01 |
0.5 LD |
14.2 |
11 |
| 2024 BF |
2025-May-01 |
9.5 LD |
4.6 |
46 |
| 2025 HP22 |
2025-May-02 |
1.3 LD |
10.9 |
7 |
| 2025 JA |
2025-May-02 |
1.3 LD |
5.3 |
8 |
| 2025 HJ5 |
2025-May-02 |
10.9 LD |
7.8 |
15 |
| 2025 JJ |
2025-May-02 |
1.7 LD |
19.4 |
20 |
| 2025 HR1 |
2025-May-02 |
12.6 LD |
6.3 |
13 |
| 2024 JM2 |
2025-May-03 |
7.6 LD |
11.3 |
62 |
| 2025 JM |
2025-May-04 |
17.1 LD |
11.2 |
31 |
| 2025 HN3 |
2025-May-04 |
7.9 LD |
14 |
30 |
| 2025 HF5 |
2025-May-06 |
3.5 LD |
4.3 |
25 |
| 2025 JK |
2025-May-06 |
13.2 LD |
5.5 |
17 |
| 2021 JN1 |
2025-May-06 |
18.3 LD |
16.3 |
39 |
| 2025 HY2 |
2025-May-07 |
17.8 LD |
13.6 |
38 |
| 2021 HZ |
2025-May-08 |
20 LD |
10.2 |
30 |
| 2025 JE |
2025-May-08 |
1 LD |
6.1 |
7 |
| 612356 |
2025-May-09 |
11 LD |
5.1 |
305 |
| 2021 KH |
2025-May-10 |
18.3 LD |
7.2 |
19 |
| 2025 JK1 |
2025-May-10 |
3.2 LD |
8 |
21 |
| 2025 JO |
2025-May-10 |
3.7 LD |
15.6 |
14 |
| 2025 JA1 |
2025-May-12 |
4 LD |
12.6 |
30 |
| 2011 HJ7 |
2025-May-12 |
6.6 LD |
15.8 |
118 |
| 2011 YU74 |
2025-May-13 |
11.4 LD |
5 |
90 |
| 2025 DT50 |
2025-May-14 |
16 LD |
6.4 |
105 |
| 2025 HD19 |
2025-May-17 |
7.3 LD |
9 |
28 |
| 2008 ST |
2025-May-20 |
13.5 LD |
2.5 |
14 |
| 2025 JE1 |
2025-May-20 |
11.4 LD |
1.4 |
22 |
| 387746 |
2025-May-24 |
17.4 LD |
8.3 |
339 |
| 2014 KF22 |
2025-May-25 |
9.1 LD |
11.5 |
19 |
| 390725 |
2025-May-25 |
18.4 LD |
13.5 |
410 |
| 2025 JP |
2025-May-27 |
13.4 LD |
7 |
24 |
| 2025 JR |
2025-May-28 |
12.1 LD |
11.4 |
75 |
| 2025 FU5 |
2025-May-28 |
13.4 LD |
7.3 |
92 |
| 2022 KP3 |
2025-May-30 |
10.2 LD |
7.7 |
7 |
| 424482 |
2025-Jun-05 |
9.1 LD |
6.2 |
421 |
| 2020 LQ |
2025-Jun-06 |
17.3 LD |
11.8 |
34 |
| 2018 LE4 |
2025-Jun-07 |
12.2 LD |
13.3 |
62 |
| 2014 LL26 |
2025-Jun-08 |
8 LD |
5.2 |
31 |
| 2022 KQ5 |
2025-Jun-12 |
13.6 LD |
5.1 |
5 |
| 2023 XO15 |
2025-Jun-15 |
17.8 LD |
3.4 |
24 |
| 2025 HN6 |
2025-Jun-16 |
6.4 LD |
2.3 |
23 |
| 2000 LF3 |
2025-Jun-17 |
18.9 LD |
14.5 |
169 |
| 2023 XU2 |
2025-Jun-18 |
11.1 LD |
15.6 |
32 |
| 2003 AY2 |
2025-Jun-22 |
14.2 LD |
15.9 |
386 |
| 2014 DH |
2025-Jun-28 |
17.1 LD |
12.1 |
17 |
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! |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
