 | | | Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica Credit: NOAA/Ovation  Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 4.00 unsettled
24-hr max: Kp= 4.00 unsettled
explanation | more data
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 13.35 nT
Bz: -9.34 nT south
more data: ACE, DSCOVR
Updated: Today at 1145 UT Coronal Holes: 08 Nov 24 
Solar wind flowing from this nearly equatorial coronal hole could reach Earth on Nov. 12th or 13th. . Credit: SDO/AIA  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 Nov. 08, 2024, the Arctic stratosphere is cooling but still too warm for Type II polar stratospheric clouds. | more data. Noctilucent Clouds
The northern season for NLCs is underway--but not for long. The first clouds were detected inside the Arctic Circle on May 25, 2024, by the NOAA 21 satellite. After peaking in July, the clouds are now in rapid decline. This is typical for the month of August, which usually brings the end of NLC season in the northern hemisphere.
Updated: Aug. 28, 2024
An instrument onboard NOAA 21 (OMPS LP) is able to detect NLCs (also known as "polar mesospheric clouds" or PMCs). In the daily map, above, each dot is a detected cloud. As the season progresses, these dots will multiply in number and shift in hue from blue to red as the brightness of the clouds intensifies.
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts | | Updated at: 2024 Nov 08 2200 UTC FLARE | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | CLASS M | 85 % | 85 % | CLASS X | 35 % | 35 % | Geomagnetic Storms:
Probabilities for significant disturbances in Earth's magnetic field are given for three activity levels: active, minor storm, severe storm Updated at: 2024 Nov 08 2200 UTC Mid-latitudes | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | ACTIVE | 40 % | 40 % | MINOR | 20 % | 20 % | SEVERE | 05 % | 05 % | High latitudes | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | ACTIVE | 10 % | 10 % | MINOR | 25 % | 25 % | SEVERE | 60 % | 60 % | | | |  | | | | | | | | | | | This is an AI Free Zone! Text created by Large Language Models is spreading rapidly across the Internet. It's well-written, artificial, frequently inaccurate. If you find a mistake on Spaceweather.com, rest assured it was made by a real human being. | | | INCREASING CHANCE OF FLARES: With the emergence of new sunspot AR3889 near the sun's eastern limb, there are now three big sunspots posing a threat for X-class solar flares. AR3889 joins AR3883 and AR3886, all of which have mixed-polarity (delta-class) magnetic fields susceptible to explosive magnetic reconnection. NOAA forecasters estimate 35% chance of X-flares on Nov. 8th. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text CME SPARKS ARCTIC AURORAS: As expected, a CME hit Earth on Nov. 7th. The glancing blow was so subtle that, at first, it did not trigger our CME alarms. As Earth moved into the CME's wake, however, it became clear that a solar storm had arrived. Auroras spread around the Arctic Circle, including these over Fáskrúðsfjörður, Iceland: 
"Beautiful Northern Lights could be seen tonight despite the clouds," says photographer Jónína Óskarsdóttir. "It was very windy and +11°C, which is unusual in November." This wasn't a geomagnetic storm. The CME's influence was too weak. Full-fledged storms are not required for auroras in Iceland, which is so close to the Arctic Circle that even mild disturbances can cause bright displays. Aurora alerts: SMS Text Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter 14K ROSE GOLD BUTTERFLY LOCKET: Are you looking for a far-out gift? Consider the 14K Rose Gold Butterfly Locket. On Oct 11, 2024, it flew to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon, reaching an altitude 109,003 feet above the Sierra Nevada mountains of California: 
You can have it for $149.95. Made of 14K rose gold and engraved with dozens of butterflies, the locket floated in the stratosphere for 3 hours while radiation sensors inside the payload gathered data for the students' radiation monitoring project. It comes with a greeting card showing the pendant in flight and telling the story of its journey to the edge of space and back again. The students of Earth to Sky Calculus are selling space jewelry to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. Don't wait for Christmas--get yours now! Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
Realtime Comet Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
Realtime Space Weather 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 Nov 07, 2024, the network reported 14 fireballs.
(12 sporadics, 2 northern Taurids)  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 November 8, 2024 there were 2349 potentially hazardous asteroids.
 | Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters: | Asteroid | Date(UT) | Miss Distance | Velocity (km/s) | Diameter (m) | | 2024 VA | 2024-Nov-03 | 1.2 LD | 12.8 | 10 | | 2024 UV6 | 2024-Nov-03 | 17.4 LD | 7.4 | 14 | | 2024 VQ1 | 2024-Nov-03 | 5.8 LD | 27 | 23 | | 2024 TX13 | 2024-Nov-03 | 1.9 LD | 7.6 | 43 | | 2020 VX1 | 2024-Nov-03 | 19.4 LD | 7.8 | 93 | | 2024 UU11 | 2024-Nov-03 | 1.1 LD | 18 | 9 | | 2024 UE11 | 2024-Nov-03 | 2.3 LD | 8.3 | 7 | | 2024 VP1 | 2024-Nov-04 | 3.4 LD | 8.9 | 7 | | 2023 VS | 2024-Nov-04 | 15.2 LD | 4.3 | 4 | | 2024 UF2 | 2024-Nov-04 | 19.5 LD | 12.8 | 48 | | 2024 VO1 | 2024-Nov-04 | 6.7 LD | 8.3 | 14 | | 2024 VO | 2024-Nov-04 | 0.8 LD | 3.1 | 2 | | 2024 UX6 | 2024-Nov-05 | 17.2 LD | 14.7 | 39 | | 2024 UT7 | 2024-Nov-05 | 2.7 LD | 8.3 | 63 | | 2024 TD22 | 2024-Nov-05 | 8 LD | 11.9 | 53 | | 2024 UO11 | 2024-Nov-05 | 11.9 LD | 6.5 | 11 | | 2024 UH5 | 2024-Nov-05 | 1.6 LD | 6.9 | 16 | | 2024 VS1 | 2024-Nov-05 | 14.5 LD | 17.6 | 25 | | 2024 UD6 | 2024-Nov-06 | 8.2 LD | 5.7 | 12 | | 2024 UW | 2024-Nov-06 | 1.7 LD | 4.7 | 11 | | 2024 UT11 | 2024-Nov-06 | 4.7 LD | 12.1 | 23 | | 2022 JM | 2024-Nov-06 | 19.7 LD | 6.2 | 6 | | 2024 VM1 | 2024-Nov-06 | 0.8 LD | 8.6 | 12 | | 2024 VC | 2024-Nov-07 | 1.8 LD | 4.8 | 12 | | 2024 VX1 | 2024-Nov-07 | 6.9 LD | 11.9 | 13 | | 2024 VY | 2024-Nov-08 | 2.2 LD | 18.6 | 20 | | 2024 VS | 2024-Nov-08 | 3.4 LD | 11.8 | 11 | | 2024 UK13 | 2024-Nov-08 | 10.4 LD | 10 | 17 | | 2024 UK9 | 2024-Nov-08 | 4.3 LD | 4.4 | 13 | | 2024 UU9 | 2024-Nov-09 | 14.5 LD | 8.8 | 17 | | 2024 VE | 2024-Nov-09 | 5.5 LD | 10.4 | 23 | | 2024 UU4 | 2024-Nov-09 | 19.4 LD | 5.7 | 15 | | 2024 UZ | 2024-Nov-10 | 16.4 LD | 4.9 | 19 | | 2024 UC3 | 2024-Nov-10 | 11 LD | 6.6 | 28 | | 2024 UK8 | 2024-Nov-11 | 19.7 LD | 18.7 | 21 | | 2019 WB7 | 2024-Nov-11 | 17.3 LD | 5.7 | 43 | | 2024 UE4 | 2024-Nov-11 | 3.4 LD | 12.5 | 29 | | 2024 VH1 | 2024-Nov-12 | 1.3 LD | 10 | 16 | | 2020 UL3 | 2024-Nov-12 | 4.1 LD | 10.5 | 80 | | 2020 AB2 | 2024-Nov-13 | 18.9 LD | 7.2 | 14 | | 2024 VV1 | 2024-Nov-14 | 19 LD | 6 | 15 | | 2024 UA10 | 2024-Nov-14 | 19.1 LD | 15.5 | 31 | | 2019 VU5 | 2024-Nov-14 | 12 LD | 23.3 | 46 | | 2019 VL5 | 2024-Nov-14 | 9.6 LD | 8.5 | 24 | | 2024 UE13 | 2024-Nov-15 | 19.6 LD | 7.8 | 26 | | 2024 UC5 | 2024-Nov-17 | 10.8 LD | 4.2 | 19 | | 2023 WK3 | 2024-Nov-18 | 16.1 LD | 14.5 | 272 | | 2024 UZ10 | 2024-Nov-18 | 11.6 LD | 13.2 | 46 | | 2012 KO11 | 2024-Nov-20 | 6.2 LD | 9.4 | 43 | | 2024 UW9 | 2024-Nov-20 | 13.6 LD | 14.8 | 45 | | 2020 VX4 | 2024-Nov-20 | 10.5 LD | 10.5 | 11 | | 2009 WB105 | 2024-Nov-25 | 15.1 LD | 18.9 | 71 | | 2006 WB | 2024-Nov-26 | 2.3 LD | 4.2 | 98 | | 2018 DC4 | 2024-Nov-29 | 18.8 LD | 4.5 | 12 | | 2019 JN2 | 2024-Nov-30 | 9.4 LD | 7.7 | 25 | | 2021 XZ | 2024-Dec-02 | 13.2 LD | 7.4 | 8 | | 447755 | 2024-Dec-03 | 14.4 LD | 12.2 | 402 | | 2020 XR | 2024-Dec-04 | 5.8 LD | 12.3 | 388 | | 2021 WA5 | 2024-Dec-05 | 9.8 LD | 5.9 | 12 | | 2024 UU3 | 2024-Dec-08 | 16.9 LD | 4.8 | 36 | | 2018 XU3 | 2024-Dec-11 | 16.8 LD | 10.8 | 28 | | 2007 XB23 | 2024-Dec-11 | 1.2 LD | 4.8 | 14 | | 2022 YO1 | 2024-Dec-17 | 2 LD | 14.3 | 4 | | 2020 XY4 | 2024-Dec-19 | 12.8 LD | 8.8 | 14 | | 2017 YD2 | 2024-Dec-27 | 18 LD | 9.9 | 6 | | 2024 AV2 | 2024-Dec-31 | 6.7 LD | 7.8 | 17 | | 2021 AO4 | 2025-Jan-04 | 6.9 LD | 15.1 | 11 | | 2020 BC6 | 2025-Jan-05 | 9.6 LD | 22.2 | 248 | 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. 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. | |
