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POSSIBLE GLANCING BLOW CME: NOAA forecasters say that a CME might graze Earth's magnetic field on Oct. 7th. It left the sun on Oct. 3rd, propelled by an explosion near the sun's northeastern limb. The glancing blow, if it occurs, could spark a minor G1-class geomagnetic storm. Aurora alerts: SMS Text
WHERE YOUR COSMIC RAY DATA COME FROM: Spaceweather.com and the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launch cosmic ray balloons more than once a month to monitor space radiation in Earth's atmosphere. Sometimes things go wrong. Last October (we're talking about 2022) one of our balloons flew off course and landed on a steep rocky slope overlooking Echo Lake, a mile-wide pool of melted snow in the Sierra Nevada at an altitude of 12,000 ft:
Echo Lake, still covered in snow in Aug. 2023. Note the human figure in the binocular view. That's a member of the payload recovery team.
A year later it's still there. The payload was quickly buried in snow by the Great Winter of 2023. At one point, we estimate, it was under as much as 30 feet of snow. Recovery teams led by Dr. Tony Phillips have visited Echo Lake four times (Oct. & Nov. 2022, August & Sept. 2023) each time getting a little closer to the payload but never recovering it.
Will the 5th time be the charm? Today the team is trying again. Improved route-finding (based on repeated visits) will allow us to reach the payload earlier in the day with more hours of sunlight to dig. At the landing site, the snow pack is down to only a few feet--even less in some places--so the search is not as daunting as it was before.
If the payload is recovered, we will be able to finally stitch together a complete record of radiation data for the past year. Wish us luck, and stay tuned for updates!
WHAT WOULD GALILEO SAY? Before you read any further, click here. That's what Galileo saw in 1610 when he turned his primitive telescope toward Jupiter. The satellites were tiny specks of light with no discernable features. What a difference 400 years makes. On Oct. 3, 2023, Philip Smith looked through a modern backyard telescope and saw a full-fledged world:
"I caught Europa transiting the cloudtops of Jupiter from my observatory in Manorville, New York," says Smith. "The moon's disk was surprisingly well resolved in my 14 inch telescope."
Far from being a featureless point of light, Europa is now considered one of the most complex and fascinating worlds in the solar system. Cracks, ridges, and chaotic terrain on the moon's icy crust may offer access to one of the largest oceans in the solar system--and a possible abode for aquatic life. NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft slated for launch in October 2024 will conduct a detailed reconnaissance of Europa's surface to help plan future missions including a lander and perhaps even a submarine.
What would Galileo say to that?
more images: from Michael Karrer of Austria
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IRIDESCENT BLACK PEARL PENDANT: It came from Tahiti--and now it's been to the edge of space. On Aug. 29, 2023, this genuine Black Tahitian South Sea Cultured Pearl flew to the stratosphere onboard an Earth to Sky Calculus cosmic ray balloon, soaring 119,010 feet above the Sierra Nevada mountains of central California:
You can have it for $199.95. The 9 mm pearl has a lovely iridescent sheen that hints at a South Sea rainbow when held in sunlight. Its surface is so smooth, it reflected a tiny image of the Sierra from an altitude of 119,101 feet!
The students of Earth to Sky are selling space pendants to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the pendant 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
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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 Oct 04, 2023, the network reported 6 fireballs.
(6 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 October 5, 2023 there were 2349 potentially hazardous asteroids.
|
Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters: Asteroid | Date(UT) | Miss Distance | Velocity (km/s) | Diameter (m) |
2023 TA | 2023-Sep-30 | 1.1 LD | 3.3 | 9 |
2023 SC4 | 2023-Sep-30 | 12.4 LD | 8.3 | 22 |
2023 SL8 | 2023-Sep-30 | 2 LD | 12.6 | 47 |
2023 SA6 | 2023-Sep-30 | 16.4 LD | 9.7 | 22 |
2009 UG | 2023-Sep-30 | 6.1 LD | 9 | 78 |
2023 SY2 | 2023-Oct-01 | 9.1 LD | 9.9 | 21 |
2023 TJ | 2023-Oct-01 | 4.7 LD | 23.2 | 33 |
2023 TB | 2023-Oct-02 | 2.6 LD | 13.3 | 16 |
2023 TH | 2023-Oct-03 | 3.9 LD | 8 | 14 |
349507 | 2023-Oct-03 | 16.5 LD | 21 | 696 |
2022 FX1 | 2023-Oct-04 | 20 LD | 9.9 | 25 |
2023 TC | 2023-Oct-04 | 2.2 LD | 7.4 | 18 |
2023 SN6 | 2023-Oct-04 | 12.6 LD | 8.5 | 27 |
2019 QO5 | 2023-Oct-05 | 19.9 LD | 9.4 | 61 |
2023 RF10 | 2023-Oct-05 | 15.8 LD | 5.8 | 27 |
2023 QC8 | 2023-Oct-05 | 15.8 LD | 6.3 | 39 |
2023 TD | 2023-Oct-05 | 2.4 LD | 8 | 14 |
2023 TG | 2023-Oct-06 | 1.8 LD | 7.2 | 8 |
2022 TD | 2023-Oct-07 | 8.9 LD | 9.4 | 10 |
2023 RR29 | 2023-Oct-07 | 9.2 LD | 8.1 | 36 |
2023 TK | 2023-Oct-07 | 5.8 LD | 4.9 | 14 |
2023 SA1 | 2023-Oct-08 | 17.9 LD | 5.9 | 26 |
2018 ER1 | 2023-Oct-08 | 12.5 LD | 5.3 | 27 |
2023 TL | 2023-Oct-09 | 8.3 LD | 13.9 | 43 |
2023 TO | 2023-Oct-10 | 3.8 LD | 10.7 | 20 |
2023 TE | 2023-Oct-11 | 4.2 LD | 5.6 | 15 |
2022 UX1 | 2023-Oct-11 | 3.1 LD | 8.6 | 9 |
2023 RD11 | 2023-Oct-11 | 12.8 LD | 9.5 | 40 |
2015 KW120 | 2023-Oct-12 | 18.2 LD | 13 | 22 |
2021 NT14 | 2023-Oct-13 | 18.6 LD | 8.6 | 254 |
2011 GA | 2023-Oct-15 | 6.8 LD | 16.6 | 230 |
2007 SQ6 | 2023-Oct-15 | 19.4 LD | 6.5 | 130 |
2019 UZ3 | 2023-Oct-16 | 9.6 LD | 8.3 | 14 |
1998 HH49 | 2023-Oct-17 | 3.1 LD | 14.8 | 193 |
2022 UO10 | 2023-Oct-19 | 7.8 LD | 9.8 | 16 |
2020 UR | 2023-Oct-20 | 5.8 LD | 12.9 | 9 |
2020 FM6 | 2023-Oct-23 | 15.5 LD | 15.9 | 149 |
2019 HH4 | 2023-Oct-24 | 13.3 LD | 20 | 365 |
2023 RA4 | 2023-Oct-24 | 8.4 LD | 3.9 | 47 |
2021 SZ4 | 2023-Oct-26 | 14 LD | 30 | 287 |
302169 | 2023-Oct-26 | 12.7 LD | 25.7 | 374 |
525229 | 2023-Oct-30 | 10.6 LD | 17.4 | 200 |
2013 UV3 | 2023-Nov-01 | 14.7 LD | 15.4 | 16 |
2016 WY | 2023-Nov-02 | 9.1 LD | 3.9 | 5 |
363505 | 2023-Nov-02 | 13.7 LD | 8 | 709 |
2022 JF | 2023-Nov-03 | 15.2 LD | 17.2 | 39 |
2023 QP8 | 2023-Nov-03 | 17.1 LD | 8.8 | 174 |
2016 VW2 | 2023-Nov-03 | 10.1 LD | 8.1 | 20 |
2019 UH7 | 2023-Nov-04 | 9.9 LD | 5.9 | 11 |
2014 BA3 | 2023-Nov-13 | 15.7 LD | 2.7 | 8 |
2021 TN3 | 2023-Nov-15 | 17 LD | 6.3 | 31 |
2019 VL5 | 2023-Nov-16 | 8.5 LD | 8.2 | 24 |
2019 LB1 | 2023-Nov-18 | 15.8 LD | 4.2 | 14 |
2016 DK1 | 2023-Nov-19 | 5.3 LD | 6.8 | 11 |
2022 VR1 | 2023-Nov-19 | 8.1 LD | 6.1 | 39 |
2019 UT6 | 2023-Nov-24 | 9 LD | 13.2 | 141 |
2019 CZ2 | 2023-Nov-25 | 2.8 LD | 5.8 | 43 |
2013 UB3 | 2023-Nov-27 | 18.5 LD | 5.4 | 25 |
1998 WB2 | 2023-Dec-03 | 11 LD | 14.2 | 151 |
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 7 years, resulting in a unique dataset of in situ atmospheric measurements.
Latest results (July 2022): Atmospheric radiation is decreasing in 2022. Our latest measurements in July 2022 registered a 6-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 |
| 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 |
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