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GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH (G2): Geomagnetic storms are possible tomorrow when two CMEs might hit Earth. A new NOAA model shows the two CMEs leaving the sun on Aug. 5th, then merging to form a single 'cannibal CME' that delivers a glancing blow to Earth on Aug. 8th. Cannibal CMEs are famous for causing strong geomagnetic storms, and even a glancing blow can be effective. In this case, storm levels could reach category G2 (Moderate) with a slight chance of escalating to G3 (Strong). Aurora alerts: SMS Text
ANOTHER X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE: Earth is dodging some big solar storms. For the second time in 3 days, departing sunspot AR3386 unleashed a powerful X1-class solar flare. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the extreme ultraviolet flash on Aug. 7th at ~2100 UT:
Radiation from the flare caused a deep shortwave radio blackout over the Pacific Ocean (map), and in the hours ahead we can expect to see a ferocious CME emerging from the blast site. The CME will not hit Earth. It is just outside our planet's strike zone.
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DANGEROUS BUT BEAUTIFUL: Observing Venus this week may be one of the most dangerous things you can do with a telescope. The planet is only 12 degrees from the blinding sun. The results, however, are undeniably beautiful:
Philip Smith took this picture in broad daylight on Aug. 6th from his home in Manorville, NY. "This is exactly how it looked," he says. "The colors have not been altered."
Like the Moon, Venus has phases, and at the moment it is a marvelously thin crescent. This happens during a special time called "inferior conjunction" when Venus passes between the sun and Earth. This year's inferior conjunction is less than a week away on Aug. 13th--so now is primetime for catching the crescent.
Smith explains how he did it: "The hardest part was finding Venus with the sun so nearby. I put solar filters on my telescope and started with the sun to get a good sharp focus. Then I had the telescope go to Venus. I took off the finder scope's solar filter first and put my hand behind it to make sure the sun was not in its path. Then I removed the main telescope's solar filter--and all was good!"
At closest approach on Aug. 13th, Venus and the sun will be separated by a little more than 7 degrees. This means careful daytime shots of Venus will be possible throughout the conjunction. Got a picture? Submit it here.
more images: from Mariano Ribas of Buenos Aires, Argentina; from Daniel Mello of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; from Robert Spellman of Apple Valley, CA; from Bum-Suk Yeom of Iksan, South Korea; from Philippe Tosi of Nîmes, France
more observing tips: from Sky & Telescope
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THE CRESCENT VENUS PENDANT: Are you looking for a far-out gift? Nothing says "I love you" like a Venus Pendant from the edge of space. This one flew to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon on Jan. 8, 2022:
You can have it for $142.95. The opal crescent is framed by sterling silver with a matching hypoallergenic chain. It comes with a greeting card showing the pendant in flight and telling the story of its journey to the stratosphere.
Why is it a crescent? Because Venus itself was a crescent on the date of the flight. On Jan. 8, 2022, the second planet was at inferior conjunction with the sun. From Earth it looked like a slender crescent--the most beautiful phase of the Goddess of Love.
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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 Aug 07, 2023, the network reported 31 fireballs.
(23 sporadics, 7 Perseids, 1 Northern Delta Aquariid)
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 August 7, 2023 there were 2349 potentially hazardous asteroids.
|
Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters: Asteroid | Date(UT) | Miss Distance | Velocity (km/s) | Diameter (m) |
2023 OF1 | 2023-Aug-02 | 17.7 LD | 10.7 | 39 |
2023 OY4 | 2023-Aug-02 | 3.2 LD | 17.6 | 30 |
2023 OW4 | 2023-Aug-03 | 1.5 LD | 9.7 | 10 |
2020 PN1 | 2023-Aug-03 | 10.8 LD | 4.8 | 29 |
620082 | 2023-Aug-04 | 14 LD | 20.6 | 377 |
2023 OR5 | 2023-Aug-04 | 7.4 LD | 7.4 | 33 |
2023 OQ | 2023-Aug-06 | 9.9 LD | 21.3 | 145 |
2004 KG1 | 2023-Aug-06 | 19.9 LD | 9.1 | 56 |
2022 BS2 | 2023-Aug-11 | 17.3 LD | 8.2 | 30 |
2023 OE5 | 2023-Aug-14 | 4 LD | 3.9 | 18 |
2022 CP1 | 2023-Aug-17 | 13.8 LD | 9.8 | 12 |
2011 QJ21 | 2023-Aug-19 | 13 LD | 15.1 | 45 |
6037 | 2023-Aug-23 | 15.9 LD | 14.3 | 571 |
2012 PZ17 | 2023-Aug-30 | 16.8 LD | 3.6 | 16 |
2017 BY32 | 2023-Sep-02 | 16.4 LD | 3.5 | 19 |
2021 JA5 | 2023-Sep-06 | 13.3 LD | 10.9 | 19 |
2020 GE | 2023-Sep-08 | 14.9 LD | 1.4 | 8 |
2020 RT2 | 2023-Sep-12 | 11 LD | 10 | 8 |
2016 LY48 | 2023-Sep-16 | 5 LD | 10.8 | 99 |
2010 TE | 2023-Sep-16 | 6.8 LD | 6 | 22 |
523598 | 2023-Sep-20 | 19.8 LD | 25 | 239 |
2019 SF6 | 2023-Sep-26 | 16.7 LD | 8.6 | 20 |
2013 TG6 | 2023-Sep-28 | 3.6 LD | 4.1 | 17 |
2009 UG | 2023-Sep-30 | 6.1 LD | 9 | 78 |
349507 | 2023-Oct-03 | 16.5 LD | 21 | 696 |
2022 FX1 | 2023-Oct-04 | 20 LD | 9.9 | 25 |
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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