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HIGH LATITUDE AURORA WATCH: Earth is inside a high-speed stream of solar wind following a possible CME impact on Nov. 25th. With the wind blowing nearly 600 km/s, high latitude auroras are possible this weekend, especially around the Arctic Circle. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
CRYOVOLCANIC ERUPTION ON A COMET (UPDATED): The British Astronomical Association (BAA) is reporting a new outburst of cryovolcanic comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann. On Nov. 22nd, the comet's nucleus suddenly brightened by more than 4 magnitudes--a sign that a major eruption was underway. Cryomagmatic debris is now expanding in a shell shaped like Pac-Man:
Cai Stoddard-Jones took the picture on Nov. 23rd using the Faulkes Telescope North in Hawaii. At the time, the shell was already more than 100,000 km in diameter.
The Pac-Man shape of the ejecta shows that this is not a uniform global eruption. Instead, it is coming from one or more discrete sources on the comet's surface.
This fits a leading model of the comet developed by Dr. Richard Miles of the British Astronomical Association. Miles believes that 29P is festooned with ice volcanoes. There is no lava. The "magma" is a cold mixture of liquid hydrocarbons (e.g., CH4, C2H4, C2H6 and C3H8) akin to those found in lakes and streams on Saturn's moon Titan. The comet's cryomagma is suffused with dissolved gases N2 and CO, a bit like carbonation in a soda bottle. These bottled-up volatiles love to explode when a fissure is opened by the warming action of sunlight.
A new image taken on Nov. 25th by astronomers André Debackère and M. Malaric adds weight to the idea that a single volcano is driving the outburst. Processing the data with a rotational gradient filter, Debackère found a bright plume of debris at position angle 330 degrees (the 1 o'clock position):
This narrow plume probably leads back to the primary source the eruption. Currently streaming away from the nucleus at 75 m/s (270 km/hr), the plume stretches more than 11,000 km into space. If an eruption like this were happening on Earth, it would be plastering thousands of satellites with frosty hydrocarbons.
The integrated brightness of the comet (magnitude +11), puts it within easy reach of many backyard telescopes. Pac-Man already subtends an angle wider than Mars and, if past eruptions are any guide, it should grow much larger in the nights ahead. Observers can find 29P after sunset in the constellation Gemini.
For more information visit the British Astronomical Association's MISSION 29P website.
more images: from Tom Gwilym of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin;
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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 Nov 26, 2022, the network reported 13 fireballs.
(12 sporadics, 1 Leonid)
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 26, 2022 there were 2316 potentially hazardous asteroids.
|
Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters: Asteroid | Date(UT) | Miss Distance | Velocity (km/s) | Diameter (m) |
2022 WF6 | 2022-Nov-21 | 2.3 LD | 8.1 | 16 |
2019 OR1 | 2022-Nov-21 | 18.1 LD | 13.4 | 219 |
2022 WD4 | 2022-Nov-21 | 15.4 LD | 9.1 | 17 |
2022 WD | 2022-Nov-21 | 11 LD | 6.6 | 10 |
2022 WE2 | 2022-Nov-22 | 3.1 LD | 13.1 | 10 |
2022 WR4 | 2022-Nov-22 | 0.7 LD | 8.4 | 4 |
2022 WO1 | 2022-Nov-22 | 9.9 LD | 7.6 | 30 |
2022 WQ3 | 2022-Nov-22 | 1.1 LD | 14.5 | 8 |
2022 WG1 | 2022-Nov-22 | 4.5 LD | 25.6 | 23 |
2022 VS1 | 2022-Nov-22 | 6.5 LD | 7.7 | 22 |
2022 WN2 | 2022-Nov-22 | 2.8 LD | 5.3 | 6 |
2022 VT2 | 2022-Nov-22 | 3 LD | 6.8 | 21 |
2022 WN1 | 2022-Nov-22 | 18.5 LD | 10 | 24 |
2018 VL8 | 2022-Nov-22 | 16.3 LD | 18 | 99 |
2022 WZ1 | 2022-Nov-23 | 8.9 LD | 9.6 | 10 |
2022 WT4 | 2022-Nov-23 | 4.3 LD | 12.8 | 13 |
2005 LW3 | 2022-Nov-23 | 3 LD | 13.5 | 149 |
2022 WR2 | 2022-Nov-23 | 9.3 LD | 7.7 | 16 |
2022 WS2 | 2022-Nov-23 | 8 LD | 11.7 | 16 |
2022 WG5 | 2022-Nov-23 | 4.2 LD | 11.3 | 133 |
2022 WL2 | 2022-Nov-23 | 5.9 LD | 8.1 | 12 |
2022 WQ1 | 2022-Nov-24 | 7.8 LD | 15.5 | 28 |
2022 WA4 | 2022-Nov-24 | 1.5 LD | 3.9 | 6 |
2022 WH2 | 2022-Nov-24 | 12.7 LD | 6.9 | 23 |
2022 WO | 2022-Nov-24 | 10.2 LD | 8.4 | 21 |
2022 WO4 | 2022-Nov-25 | 11 LD | 10.9 | 46 |
2022 WA2 | 2022-Nov-25 | 3.9 LD | 9.8 | 18 |
2022 WY3 | 2022-Nov-25 | 8.8 LD | 6.5 | 26 |
2022 WU4 | 2022-Nov-25 | 11.6 LD | 14.7 | 33 |
2022 WY | 2022-Nov-25 | 11.2 LD | 6.8 | 16 |
2022 UD72 | 2022-Nov-26 | 10.6 LD | 4.3 | 20 |
2022 WP5 | 2022-Nov-27 | 15.9 LD | 14.4 | 44 |
2022 WO2 | 2022-Nov-27 | 15.2 LD | 10 | 23 |
2022 VQ | 2022-Nov-27 | 7.6 LD | 8.2 | 28 |
2022 WS5 | 2022-Nov-29 | 4.9 LD | 11.7 | 26 |
2022 VB2 | 2022-Nov-29 | 9 LD | 8.4 | 33 |
2022 WE5 | 2022-Nov-30 | 4.1 LD | 8.5 | 11 |
2022 WK1 | 2022-Dec-01 | 14.2 LD | 12.2 | 39 |
2010 VQ | 2022-Dec-02 | 11.9 LD | 3.9 | 10 |
2009 HV58 | 2022-Dec-02 | 12.3 LD | 28.8 | 419 |
2022 UT8 | 2022-Dec-02 | 11.1 LD | 4.2 | 71 |
2017 QL33 | 2022-Dec-03 | 16 LD | 6.9 | 193 |
2022 WD2 | 2022-Dec-03 | 7.3 LD | 7.4 | 25 |
2022 WO5 | 2022-Dec-04 | 19.2 LD | 9.1 | 42 |
2022 WQ5 | 2022-Dec-04 | 5.8 LD | 11.6 | 27 |
2022 WB5 | 2022-Dec-05 | 5.8 LD | 11 | 30 |
2022 VP1 | 2022-Dec-05 | 17.3 LD | 7.1 | 56 |
2022 WA6 | 2022-Dec-06 | 4.4 LD | 13.9 | 21 |
2022 WW | 2022-Dec-10 | 19.2 LD | 6.2 | 30 |
2019 XY | 2022-Dec-10 | 3.6 LD | 12.9 | 9 |
2003 YS70 | 2022-Dec-13 | 10.4 LD | 4.1 | 5 |
2019 XQ1 | 2022-Dec-13 | 14.5 LD | 9.8 | 30 |
2018 XU3 | 2022-Dec-13 | 14.8 LD | 10.3 | 28 |
2021 XS4 | 2022-Dec-14 | 14.5 LD | 9.7 | 23 |
2015 RN35 | 2022-Dec-15 | 1.8 LD | 5.9 | 85 |
2016 YE | 2022-Dec-18 | 18.6 LD | 4.8 | 23 |
2014 HK129 | 2022-Dec-20 | 6.7 LD | 11.6 | 216 |
2017 XQ60 | 2022-Dec-21 | 18.8 LD | 16 | 45 |
2022 UD9 | 2022-Dec-22 | 4.6 LD | 10.3 | 159 |
2022 RD2 | 2022-Dec-22 | 13.9 LD | 1.1 | 7 |
2013 YA14 | 2022-Dec-25 | 2.7 LD | 10.5 | 68 |
2022 TE14 | 2022-Dec-25 | 11.2 LD | 7 | 127 |
2018 YK2 | 2022-Dec-26 | 15.8 LD | 15.1 | 98 |
2010 XC15 | 2022-Dec-27 | 2 LD | 10.1 | 182 |
2021 AE | 2022-Dec-28 | 16.5 LD | 15 | 23 |
2021 NF | 2023-Jan-02 | 17.9 LD | 11.3 | 40 |
2011 WR41 | 2023-Jan-03 | 15.8 LD | 8.9 | 34 |
2019 AY3 | 2023-Jan-04 | 16.8 LD | 19.7 | 62 |
2021 TL | 2023-Jan-09 | 14.2 LD | 8.5 | 75 |
2014 LJ | 2023-Jan-14 | 4.8 LD | 3.5 | 7 |
2012 BV13 | 2023-Jan-16 | 12.2 LD | 6.7 | 134 |
2020 BP | 2023-Jan-20 | 5.2 LD | 16.9 | 26 |
2019 BO2 | 2023-Jan-24 | 12.1 LD | 16.2 | 21 |
2019 BZ4 | 2023-Jan-24 | 16.5 LD | 5.6 | 20 |
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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