| | Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica Credit: NOAA/Ovation Planetary K-index Now: Kp= 2.67 quiet 24-hr max: Kp= 2.67 quiet explanation | more data Interplanetary Mag. Field Btotal: 5.17 nT Bz: -3.15 nT south more data: ACE, DSCOVR Updated: Today at 1146 UT Coronal Holes: 19 Jun 23 Streams of solar wind flowing from these three small coronal holes could reach Earth on June 21-22. Credit: SDO/AIA Noctilucent Clouds The northern season for NLCs began on May 26th. The first clouds were detected inside the Arctic Circle by the NOAA 21 satellite. An instrument onboard NOAA 21 (OMPS LP) is able to detect NLCs (also known as "polar mesospheric clouds" or PMCs). For the rest of the season, daily maps from NOAA 21 will be presented here: Updated: June 18, 2023 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. What happened to NASA's AIM spacecraft, which has been monitoring NLCs since 2007? Earlier this year, the spacecraft's battery failed. As a result AIM is offline, perhaps permanently. There may be some hope of a recovery as AIM's orbit precesses into full sunlight in 2024. Until then, we will maintain AIM's iconic "daily daisy," frozen at Feb. 28, 2023, as a show of thanks for years of service and hope for future daisies: | | | Switch view:Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctic Peninsula, East Antarctica, Polar Updated Jun19 SPACE WEATHER NOAA Forecasts | | Updated at: 2023 Jun 19 2200 UTC FLARE | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | CLASS M | 40 % | 40 % | CLASS X | 10 % | 10 % | Geomagnetic Storms: Probabilities for significant disturbances in Earth's magnetic field are given for three activity levels: active, minor storm, severe storm Updated at: 2023 Jun 19 2200 UTC Mid-latitudes | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | ACTIVE | 25 % | 20 % | MINOR | 10 % | 10 % | SEVERE | 05 % | 05 % | High latitudes | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | ACTIVE | 10 % | 15 % | MINOR | 20 % | 20 % | SEVERE | 35 % | 35 % | | | | | | | | | | | | Text created by ChatGPT and other 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. This is an AI Free Zone! | | | A GLANCING-BLOW CME IS COMING (UPDATED): Sunspot AR3335 exploded on June 18th, producing an M2.5-class solar flare (new movie) and a minor shortwave radio blackout over the Atlantic Ocean (map). The explosion lasted long enough to lift a CME out of the sun's atmosphere. NOAA has modeled the CME and determined that it could deliver a glancing blow to Earth's magnetic field on June 21-22. CME alerts: SMS Text POSSIBLE MID-LATITUDE NOCTILUCENT CLOUDS: Since late May, the NOAA-21 satellite has been monitorig a buildup of noctilucent clouds (NLCs) around the North Pole. On June 17th, the clouds may have spilled all the way down to mid-latitudes: "[Our latest map] shows lines of faint clouds extending down to 40 N," says Matt DeLand of Science Systems and Applications, Inc, who processed the data. "I'm not sure I believe these are all real clouds, because they show up in only one of three slits [in the satellite's OMPS Limb Profiler instrument]." Daily maps later this week may provide confirmation. NLCs are clouds of frosted meteor smoke. They form every year in summer when wisps of water vapor rise up to the edge of space and crystalize on the surfaces of disintegrated meteoroids. Often, the clouds are most widespread during nights around the summer solstice, with sightings in recent years as far south as Spain and southern California. Above: Noctilucent clouds over Scotland on June 16th. Credit: Alan C Tough With this year's northern summer solstice only 2 days away, the timing is right for mid-latitude NLCs. NOAA-21's detections may indeed be real. Stay tuned for updates in the days ahead and, meanwhile, be alert for noctilucent clouds. Realtime NLC Photo Gallery Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter APOLLO 11 PROOF SILVER DOLLAR: Are you looking for a far-out gift? Consider this: On July 20, 2019 (the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing), the students of Earth to Sky Calculus flew this rare proof silver dollar to the stratosphere: The US Mint created Apollo 11 coins to celebrate the first Moon landing--but you can no longer buy them from the Mint. You can, however, get one from Earth to Sky Calculus. The students are selling the collector's item for $259.95 to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. The silver dollar is curved and reproduces the helmet of astronaut Buzz Aldrin. Reflected in Buzz's visor are Neil Armstrong, the United States flag, and the lunar lander. The opposite side of the coin shows Neil's iconic footprint on the Moon. Included is a greeting card showing the coin in flight and a certificate of authenticity. Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store All sales support hands-on STEM education Realtime Aurora 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 Jun 17, 2023, the network reported 7 fireballs. (7 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 19, 2023 there were 2335 potentially hazardous asteroids. | Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters: Asteroid | Date(UT) | Miss Distance | Velocity (km/s) | Diameter (m) | 2023 LZ | 2023-Jun-14 | 0.8 LD | 13.6 | 18 | 2020 DB5 | 2023-Jun-15 | 11.3 LD | 9.5 | 506 | 2023 LL1 | 2023-Jun-15 | 1.5 LD | 10.7 | 8 | 2023 LM1 | 2023-Jun-15 | 0.3 LD | 9.2 | 7 | 2023 MB | 2023-Jun-16 | 13.5 LD | 5.5 | 20 | 2023 MP | 2023-Jun-16 | 4.5 LD | 12.6 | 35 | 2023 LQ1 | 2023-Jun-16 | 2.7 LD | 8.4 | 14 | 2023 HL | 2023-Jun-17 | 13.5 LD | 1 | 15 | 2023 LV1 | 2023-Jun-17 | 14.7 LD | 16.5 | 189 | 2023 LE2 | 2023-Jun-17 | 0.4 LD | 6.8 | 3 | 2023 LV | 2023-Jun-18 | 11.9 LD | 8 | 34 | 2023 LW | 2023-Jun-18 | 6.1 LD | 16.6 | 33 | 2016 LK49 | 2023-Jun-19 | 17.4 LD | 19.4 | 22 | 2023 LT1 | 2023-Jun-20 | 1.8 LD | 10.3 | 16 | 2023 HF1 | 2023-Jun-21 | 12.5 LD | 4.4 | 59 | 2023 MQ | 2023-Jun-23 | 3.1 LD | 8.8 | 11 | 467336 | 2023-Jun-24 | 17.4 LD | 7.1 | 269 | 2008 LG2 | 2023-Jun-24 | 10.5 LD | 5.6 | 32 | 2023 MD | 2023-Jun-25 | 7 LD | 4.1 | 27 | 2013 WV44 | 2023-Jun-28 | 9.1 LD | 11.8 | 95 | 2022 MM1 | 2023-Jun-29 | 9.8 LD | 9.7 | 41 | 2023 LG2 | 2023-Jul-01 | 5.7 LD | 2.8 | 26 | 2020 NC | 2023-Jul-02 | 13.9 LD | 7.7 | 123 | 2023 HO6 | 2023-Jul-05 | 5.3 LD | 7.8 | 232 | 2023 LH2 | 2023-Jul-06 | 18.8 LD | 7.9 | 35 | 2019 LH5 | 2023-Jul-07 | 14.9 LD | 21.6 | 281 | 2018 NW | 2023-Jul-10 | 18 LD | 21.8 | 10 | 2023 LN1 | 2023-Jul-10 | 17.9 LD | 5.8 | 63 | 2018 UY | 2023-Jul-12 | 7.4 LD | 16.4 | 243 | 2020 UQ3 | 2023-Jul-18 | 3.2 LD | 9.3 | 59 | 2022 GX2 | 2023-Jul-20 | 11.9 LD | 9.4 | 5 | 2020 OM | 2023-Jul-20 | 8.5 LD | 9.5 | 14 | 2015 MA54 | 2023-Jul-24 | 16.6 LD | 9.2 | 31 | 2018 BG5 | 2023-Jul-27 | 10.7 LD | 8.4 | 56 | 2020 PP1 | 2023-Jul-29 | 17 LD | 4.1 | 17 | 2021 BD3 | 2023-Jul-30 | 14 LD | 8.5 | 25 | 2016 AW65 | 2023-Jul-31 | 16.6 LD | 5.7 | 54 | 2020 PN1 | 2023-Aug-03 | 10.8 LD | 4.8 | 29 | 620082 | 2023-Aug-04 | 14 LD | 20.6 | 375 | 2004 KG1 | 2023-Aug-06 | 18.7 LD | 9.2 | 54 | 2022 BS2 | 2023-Aug-11 | 17.3 LD | 8.2 | 30 | 2022 CP1 | 2023-Aug-17 | 13.8 LD | 9.8 | 12 | 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 | | Getting YouTube comments is essential if you want to beat the algorithm! That’s why you need to buy YouTube comments from RealSocialz.com because they offer real USA comments you can customize. | | When looking for casinos to play online when the weather is bad, you can try casino online trucchi for Italian games. If you are not from Finland you can try the Swedish page Svenska casino online to find suitable games, check out svenskacasinoonline.net. Always check your local laws before playing with real money. | | 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. | |