Never miss another geomagnetic storm. Sign up for Space Weather Alerts and you'll receive a text message when magnetic storms erupt. Aurora tour guides and professional astronomers use this service. You can, too! | | |
METEORS FROM HALLEY'S COMET: Earth is entering a stream of debris from Halley's Comet, source of the annual eta Aquariid meteor shower. Peak rates of 10 to 30 meteors per hour are expected on the night of May 6-7. Glare from a nearly full Moon will reduce visibility, but this could be offset by an extra dose of meteoroids nudged toward Earth by the gravity of Jupiter. Full Story.
SOLAR FLARE AND CME: Reversed-polarity sunspot AR3296 (described below) exploded on May 4th (0844 UT), producing an M3.9-class solar flare. The extreme ultraviolet flash lasted for nearly 3 hours:
The explosion also hurled a CME into space. Coronagraph images from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory show a halo CME emerging from the blast site. It appears to have an Earth-directed component. If so, we could experience a geomagnetic storm this weekend when the CME arrives. Confirmation awaits additional forecast modeling from NOAA and NASA. Stay tuned. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text.
REVERSED-POLARITY SUNSPOT: New sunspot AR3296 is breaking the law: Hale’s Law. The sunspot's magnetic field is reversed compared to other nearby sunspots in the sun's northern hemisphere. This magnetogram from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) shows the situation:
According to Hale's Law, Solar Cycle 25 sunspots in the sun’s northern hemisphere should have a -/+ polarity (negative on the left, positive on the right). AR3296 is reversed; its polarity is +/-.
Studies show that about 3% of all sunspots violate Hale’s Law. In most ways, reversed polarity sunspots are totally normal. They have about the same lifespan and size as ordinary sunspots. In one important way, however, they are different. According to a 1982 survey by Frances Tang of the Big Bear Solar Observatory, reversed polarity sunspots are more than twice as likely to develop complex magnetic fields, in which + and – are mixed together. Reversed polarity sunspots are therefore more likely to explode. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text.
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
MR. SPOCK SOAP (VULCAN MINT SCENTED): It's the logical way to get clean: Vulcan-mint scented Spock Soap. This bar touched space on April 29, 2023, when it hitched a ride onboard an Earth to Sky Calculus cosmic ray balloon:
You can have it for $99.95. Not only does the bar smell like the mint gardens of Vulcan, but also each side of the wrapper features hilarious Spock lore. Take a look.
The students of Earth to Sky are selling space soap to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each bar comes with a greeting card showing the soap in flight and telling the story of its journey to the stratosphere and back again.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
A SUDDEN DECREASE IN COSMIC RADIATION: Last month, on April 23rd, a CME hit Earth's magnetic field. The impact sparked a severe geomagnetic storm with auroras so bright they could be seen as far south as Texas. Invisible to the human eye, something else happened. There was a sudden decrease in cosmic radiation:
In a matter of hours, cosmic rays peppering Earth's atmosphere dropped to their lowest levels since 2015. Neutron monitors in Oulu, Finland, detected the drop, which lasted for days.
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 coronal mass ejection (CME) sweeps past Earth and pushes galactic cosmic rays away from our planet. It sounds counterintuitive, but big solar storms can cause sharp decreases in space radiation.
This Forbush decrease is over, but more are in the offing. Solar Max is coming and soon the sun will be hurling many more CMEs in our direction. Their cumulative effect could create a sustained decrease in cosmic radiation, lowering dose rates for astronauts and air travelers.
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
Realtime Aurora 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 May 04, 2023, the network reported 8 fireballs.
(5 sporadics, 3 eta Aquariids)
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 May 4, 2023 there were 2316 potentially hazardous asteroids.
|
Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters: Asteroid | Date(UT) | Miss Distance | Velocity (km/s) | Diameter (m) |
2023 HW5 | 2023-Apr-29 | 15.9 LD | 8.8 | 27 |
2023 HC4 | 2023-Apr-29 | 10.9 LD | 5.9 | 20 |
2023 GF2 | 2023-Apr-30 | 11.5 LD | 4.8 | 28 |
2023 HD7 | 2023-Apr-30 | 0.6 LD | 11.4 | 7 |
2018 VS6 | 2023-May-01 | 5.2 LD | 11.6 | 14 |
2023 HV | 2023-May-01 | 3.6 LD | 4.3 | 15 |
2023 HY3 | 2023-May-01 | 16.7 LD | 6.5 | 32 |
2023 HV5 | 2023-May-03 | 1.1 LD | 8.9 | 13 |
2023 HF7 | 2023-May-04 | 1.7 LD | 13.1 | 16 |
2023 HJ7 | 2023-May-04 | 20 LD | 37.3 | 94 |
2023 HH7 | 2023-May-04 | 2.2 LD | 24.6 | 28 |
2023 HZ4 | 2023-May-04 | 8 LD | 22.8 | 58 |
2006 HX57 | 2023-May-05 | 6.8 LD | 11 | 30 |
2015 VN66 | 2023-May-06 | 20.1 LD | 20 | 114 |
2023 HT6 | 2023-May-07 | 3.2 LD | 9.2 | 21 |
2023 HP1 | 2023-May-07 | 16 LD | 11.6 | 93 |
2023 HG1 | 2023-May-09 | 10.9 LD | 2.4 | 19 |
2023 HT4 | 2023-May-12 | 15.9 LD | 8.9 | 81 |
2011 KY15 | 2023-May-18 | 19.9 LD | 14.3 | 54 |
2021 JK7 | 2023-May-22 | 16.7 LD | 22.9 | 48 |
2023 GY2 | 2023-May-22 | 18.1 LD | 11.3 | 96 |
2019 UJ3 | 2023-May-23 | 15.5 LD | 9.8 | 21 |
2023 CL3 | 2023-May-24 | 18.9 LD | 7.3 | 117 |
2021 KO2 | 2023-May-29 | 15.8 LD | 13.9 | 9 |
2012 KP24 | 2023-May-31 | 10.3 LD | 12.4 | 19 |
2018 KR | 2023-Jun-07 | 6.5 LD | 4.9 | 19 |
2017 UJ2 | 2023-Jun-07 | 5.3 LD | 5.6 | 2 |
488453 | 2023-Jun-12 | 8.3 LD | 21.5 | 495 |
2022 WN4 | 2023-Jun-13 | 10.8 LD | 15.1 | 158 |
2020 DB5 | 2023-Jun-15 | 11.3 LD | 9.5 | 506 |
2023 HL | 2023-Jun-17 | 13.5 LD | 1 | 15 |
2016 LK49 | 2023-Jun-19 | 17.4 LD | 19.4 | 22 |
2018 LN2 | 2023-Jun-20 | 19 LD | 9.9 | 84 |
2023 HF1 | 2023-Jun-21 | 12.5 LD | 4.4 | 59 |
467336 | 2023-Jun-24 | 17.4 LD | 7.1 | 269 |
2008 LG2 | 2023-Jun-24 | 10.5 LD | 5.6 | 32 |
2022 MM1 | 2023-Jun-29 | 9.5 LD | 9.8 | 41 |
2020 NC | 2023-Jul-02 | 13.9 LD | 7.7 | 123 |
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. |
| BestCSGOGambling is the best site for everything related to CSGO gambling on the web |
| To find reviews of new online casino sites in the UK try The Casino DB where there are hundreds of online casino reviews complete with bonuses and ratings. Alternatively, Online-Casinos.xyz is another massive directory of online casinos listing sites for the UK and Worldwide. Casinos that offer Rupees for bonuses are very generous to Indian players. Find the best online casinos in India at AllCasinos.in Looking for a new online casino? Try Casimpo the new site dedicated to making online casino simple, or check out the new Avenger Slots Casino and Ace Online Casino with over 500 online slots and casino games. |
| 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. |
| Looking for sports betting companies not registered on GamStop? CasinoGap has presented a list of sites not on GamStop available for UK players. Check and bet online! Would you like to bet at sites not using GamStop? Look at a list of NonStopCasino sites for online betting that aren't on GamStop. Top-rated bookmakers ever! |
| These links help Spaceweather.com stay online. Thank you to our supporters! |
| | | | | |