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SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids
 
Solar wind
speed: 574.1 km/sec
density: 15.4 protons/cm3
more data: ACE, DSCOVR
Updated: Today at 2118 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: C9
1808 UT Dec22
24-hr: M1
0706 UT Dec22
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2350 UT
Daily Sun: 22 Dec 21
Expand: labels | no labels
There are 10 numbered sunspot groups on the solar disk--the most since the peak of the previous Solar Cycle almost 11 years ago. Credit: SDO/HMI

Sunspot number: 147
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 22 Dec 2021

Spotless Days
Current Stretch: 0 days
2021 total: 64 days (18%)
2020 total: 208 days (57%)
2019 total: 281 days (77%)
2018 total: 221 days (61%)
2017 total: 104 days (28%)
2016 total: 32 days (9%)
2015 total: 0 days (0%)
2014 total: 1 day (<1%)
2013 total: 0 days (0%)
2012 total: 0 days (0%)
2011 total: 2 days (<1%)
2010 total: 51 days (14%)
2009 total: 260 days (71%)
2008 total: 268 days (73%)
2007 total: 152 days (42%)
2006 total: 70 days (19%)

Updated 22 Dec 2021


Thermosphere Climate Index
today: 8.02
x1010 W Cool
Max: 49.4
x1010 W Hot (10/1957)
Min: 2.05
x1010 W Cold (02/2009)
explanation | more data: gfx, txt
Updated 22 Dec 2021

The Radio Sun
10.7 cm flux: 137 sfu
explanation | more data
Updated 22 Dec 2021

Cosmic Rays Solar Cycle 25 is beginning, and this is reflected in the number of cosmic rays entering Earth's atmosphere. Neutron counts from the University of Oulu's Sodankyla Geophysical Observatory show that cosmic rays reaching Earth are slowly declining--a result of the yin-yang relationship between the solar cycle and cosmic rays.

Oulu Neutron Counts

Percentages of the Space Age average:
today: +8.5% High
48-hr change: -0.6%
Max: +11.7% Very High
(12/2009)
Min: -32.1% Very Low (06/1991)
explanation | more data
Updated 22 Dec 2021 @ 1700 UT

Current Auroral Oval:
Switch to: Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctic Peninsula, East Antarctica, Polar
Credit: NOAA/Ovation
Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 3 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 3
quiet
explanation | more data
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 4.7 nT
Bz: 2.4 nT north
more data: ACE, DSCOVR
Updated: Today at 2118 UT
Coronal Holes: 22 Dec 21

Earth is inside a stream of solar wind flowing from the indicated coronal hole.
Credit: SDO/AIA

Noctilucent Clouds The southern hemisphere season for noctilucent clouds has begun. NASA's AIM spacecraft detected the first electric-blue puffs over Antarctica on Dec. 14th.
Switch view: Europe, USA, Asia, Polar
Updated at:
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts
Updated at: 2021 Dec 21 2200 UTC
FLARE
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
CLASS M
25 %
25 %
CLASS X
05 %
05 %
Geomagnetic Storms:
Probabilities for significant disturbances in Earth's magnetic field are given for three activity levels: active, minor storm, severe storm
Updated at: 2021 Dec 21 2200 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
25 %
35 %
MINOR
05 %
20 %
SEVERE
01 %
05 %
High latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
15 %
10 %
MINOR
30 %
25 %
SEVERE
30 %
55 %
 
Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021
What's up in space
       
 

Lights Over Lapland has a full catalogue of exciting adventures in Abisko National Park, Sweden! Check out our daytime and evening activities and book your adventure!

 

GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH (UPDATED): A CME is heading for Earth. The faint storm cloud left the sun on Dec. 20th (1136 UT), propelled by an M1.9-class solar flare in the magnetic canopy of sunspot AR2908. NOAA forecasters expect a glancing blow to Earth's magnetic field on Dec. 24th, possibly sparking a G1-class geomagnetic storm. Christmas Lights, anyone? Aurora alerts: SMS Text.

THE SENSATIONAL TAIL OF COMET LEONARD: Telescopes around the world are swiveling to catch Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1), which experienced an explosive outburst on Dec. 20th. Last night, Gerald Rhemann photographed knots and swirls of debris flowing down the comet's sensational tail:

"I took the picture using a remote-controlled telescope in Farm Hakos, Namibia," says Rhemann.

"A small telescope reveals a very complex and dynamic tail," adds Daniele Gasparri, who photographed the comet from the Atacama desert in Chile. "It is a rare beauty of the sky."

"Long exposure times are useless, the comet's tail is moving so rapidly," says astrophotographer Michael Jaeger. "The shapes are sensational."

More disturbances may be in the offing. The comet is heading for its closest approach to the sun (0.61 AU) on Jan. 3rd. Increasing heat could liberate new jets of gas and dust from the comet's core or even blow away huge chunks of ice and rock. Astronomers in the southern hemisphere will have the best view as Comet Leonard climbs higher in the austral summer sky (coordinates). Got a picture? Submit it here.

Realtime Comet Leonard Photo Gallery
Free:
Spaceweather.com Newsletter

AURORAS SPRINKLED WITH DIAMOND DUST: "Last night I went out to photograph the auroras, and I came back with something extra" says Markus Varik of Tromsø, Norway. The auroras were sprinkled with diamond dust:

The luminous arcs, rings and 'dogs in Varik's photo are caused by moonlight shining through "diamond dust"--jewel-like ice crystals of exceptional purity that form in cold Arctic environments. Indeed, some of the sparkles in the sky are not stars; they are actual specks of diamond dust.

more images: from Rayann Elzein of Utsjoki, Finland; from Andrei Andritcu of Tromsø, Norway.

Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
Free:
Spaceweather.com Newsletter

GIFTS FROM THE EDGE OF SPACE: Christmas is coming. Are you looking for a far-out gift? Check out the Earth to Sky Store. It's filled with unique items that have flown to the edge of space onboard cosmic ray research balloons.

These unique gifts have flown above 99.7% of Earth's atmosphere, experiencing space-like blasts of cosmic rays, extreme cold, and a wild ride parachuting back to Earth after the balloon explodes. Even Amazon doesn't carry items this far out.

Don't forget to enter coupon code "SPACESANTA" at checkout for a 10% Extended Black Friday discount.

Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education


Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
Free:
Spaceweather.com Newsletter

  All Sky Fireball Network
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 Dec 22, 2021, the network reported 13 fireballs.
(10 sporadics, 2 Dec. Leonis Minorids, 1 Ursid)

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]

  Near Earth Asteroids
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 December 22, 2021 there were 2245 potentially hazardous asteroids.
Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Velocity (km/s)
Diameter (m)
2021 XN6
2021-Dec-17
10.2 LD
9.9
14
163899
2021-Dec-17
14.2 LD
5.6
1093
2021 LX3
2021-Dec-18
19.7 LD
6.5
124
2021 YD
2021-Dec-19
10.1 LD
11
50
2021 XV5
2021-Dec-19
7.9 LD
7.1
28
2021 XK6
2021-Dec-20
8.7 LD
12.3
98
2016 YY10
2021-Dec-21
11.3 LD
9.2
23
2017 XQ60
2021-Dec-21
13.7 LD
15.7
47
2021 YB
2021-Dec-23
1.4 LD
5.8
11
2016 TR54
2021-Dec-24
16.9 LD
15.5
135
2018 AH
2021-Dec-27
11.9 LD
12.7
112
2017 AE3
2021-Dec-29
9.3 LD
19.1
155
2014 YE15
2022-Jan-06
19.3 LD
6.4
8
2020 AP1
2022-Jan-07
4.6 LD
5.7
4
2013 YD48
2022-Jan-11
14.6 LD
14.8
107
2021 BA
2022-Jan-18
9.8 LD
9.1
22
7482
2022-Jan-18
5.2 LD
19.6
1732
2018 PN22
2022-Jan-21
11.4 LD
2.7
11
2017 XC62
2022-Jan-24
18.7 LD
4.3
112
2021 BZ
2022-Jan-27
17.6 LD
14.6
39
2018 CA1
2022-Feb-05
9.8 LD
15.1
32
2007 UY1
2022-Feb-08
13.9 LD
6.6
89
2020 DF
2022-Feb-14
12 LD
8.6
20
2018 CW2
2022-Feb-18
2.2 LD
10.8
25
2020 CX1
2022-Feb-18
7.2 LD
8.2
54
Notes: LD means "Lunar Distance." 1 LD = 384,401 km, the distance between Earth and the Moon. 1 LD also equals 0.00256 AU. MAG is the visual magnitude of the asteroid on the date of closest approach.
  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 (Nov. 2021): Our balloons have just measured a sudden drop in atmospheric radiation. It happened during the strong geomagnetic storms of Nov. 3-4, 2021. Here are the data:

This is called a "Forbush decrease," named after American physicist Scott Forbush who studied cosmic rays in the early 20th century.  It happens when a CME from the sun sweeps past Earth and literally pushes cosmic rays away from our planet. Radiation from deep space that would normally pepper Earth's upper atmosphere is briefly wiped out.

We have measured Forbush decreases before. For example, here's one from Sept. 2014. The Forbush Decrease of Nov. 3-4, 2021, was the deepest in the history of our 7-year atmospheric monitoring program. Radiation levels in the stratosphere over California dropped nearly 20%, more than doubling the previous record from our dataset. 

En route to the stratosphere, our sensors also pass through aviation altitudes, so we can sample radiation where planes fly. This plot shows how the Forbush decrease was restricted to the stratosphere; it did not affect lower levels of the atmosphere:

The dose rates shown above are expressed as multiples of sea level. For instance, we see that boarding a plane that flies at 25,000 feet exposes passengers to dose rates ~10x higher than sea level. At 40,000 feet, the multiplier is closer to 50x. The higher you fly, the more radiation you will absorb.

.Who cares? Cosmic rays are a surprisingly "down to Earth" form of space weather. They can seed clouds, 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. Somewhat more controversial studies (#1, #2, #3, #4) link 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 first graph ("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.

  Essential web links
NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center
  The official U.S. government space weather bureau
Atmospheric Optics
  The first place to look for information about sundogs, pillars, rainbows and related phenomena.
Solar Dynamics Observatory
  Researchers call it a "Hubble for the sun." SDO is the most advanced solar observatory ever.
STEREO
  3D views of the sun from NASA's Solar and Terrestrial Relations Observatory
Solar and Heliospheric Observatory
  Realtime and archival images of the Sun from SOHO.
SolarMonitor.org
  information about sunspots based on the latest NOAA/USAF Active Region Summary
Daily Sunspot Summaries
  from the NOAA Space Environment Center
NOAA 27-Day Space Weather Forecasts
  fun to read, but should be taken with a grain of salt! Forecasts looking ahead more than a few days are often wrong.
Aurora 30 min forecast
  from the NOAA Space Environment Center
Heliophysics
  the underlying science of space weather

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