 | | | Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica Credit: NOAA/Ovation  Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 2.67 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 6.00 storm
explanation | more data
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 7.01 nT
Bz: 5.22 nT north
more data: ACE, DSCOVR
Updated: Today at 1146 UT Coronal Holes: 13 May 24 
There are no significant equatorial coronal holes on the Earthside of the sun. . Credit: SDO/AIA  Polar Stratospheric Clouds
Colorful Type II polar stratospheric clouds (PSC) form when the temperature in the stratosphere drops to a staggeringly low -85C. NASA's MERRA-2 climate model predicts when the air up there is cold enough: 
On May 13, 2024, the Arctic stratosphere is much too warm for Type II polar stratospheric clouds. | more data. Noctilucent Clouds
The southern season for NLCs is over. The first clouds were detected inside the Antarctic Circle on Dec. 4, 2023, by the NOAA 21 satellite. The same satellite detected the last cloud on Feb. 21, 2024. Daily maps are now blank:
Updated: Feb 22, 2024
An instrument onboard NOAA 21 (OMPS LP) is able to detect NLCs (also known as "polar mesospheric clouds" or PMCs). Now that the southern season has ended, attention turns to the northern hemisphere. The first NLCs should appear inside the Arctic Circle in mid to late May.
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts | | Updated at: 2024 May 13 2200 UTC FLARE | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | CLASS M | 80 % | 40 % | CLASS X | 40 % | 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: 2024 May 13 2200 UTC Mid-latitudes | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | ACTIVE | 30 % | 35 % | MINOR | 35 % | 30 % | SEVERE | 25 % | 15 % | High latitudes | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | ACTIVE | 05 % | 05 % | MINOR | 20 % | 20 % | SEVERE | 75 % | 70 % | | | |  | | | | | | | | | | | This is an AI Free Zone! Text created by 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. | | | THE BIG STORM IS OVER: NOAA forecasters say that the storm is really over now. There's no chance of additional G5 activity this week because all the big CMEs have already come and gone. However, relatively minor G1 or G2-class storms are possible on May 14th in response to a glancing blow from this off-target CME. Aurora alerts: SMS Text A PARTING SHOT FROM AR3664: This morning, May 13th, giant sunspot AR3664 issued a parting shot from the edge of the Earth strike zone. An M6-class flare at 0944 UT hurled an impressive CME into space: 
The bright objects in this SOHO coronagraph movie are Jupiter (left) and Venus (right)
Unlike most of the sunspot's previous CMEs, this one is not going to hit Earth with bullseye precision. Instead, it is expected to deliver a glancing blow on May 15th or 16th. The impact could spark minor (G1) to moderate (G2) geomagnetic storms. Aurora alerts: SMS Text AURORAS IN STRANGE PLACES: The historic geomagnetic storm of May 10-11, 2024, produced auroras across Europe, Asia, Mexico, and all 50 US stetes--even Hawaii. Hundreds of millions of people saw the colored lights for the first time in their lives, with photographers catching shots they couldn't have previously imagined. For instance, here is Opuntia chlorotica surrounded by the red glow of a CME: 
Kyle Nulla Cognomen sends this picture from Las Vegas, Nevada. "What a gorgeous view of the desert sky illuminated by aurora," he says. "I could see the reds and greens with my naked eye!" Our photo gallery is filled with unusual images like this one--auroras in strange places, illuminating cactii, palm trees, pyramids, and Carribean beaches. There's no way to pick a favorite. Or is there? Browse the gallery to explore the extraordinary global display. Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter 18K GOLD TOTAL ECLIPSE PENDANT: This pendant has touched the shadow of the Moon. On April 8, 2024, during a total eclipse of the sun in Texas, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched it to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon. Floating more than 118,110 feet high, the locket spent 3 minutes and 45 seconds wrapped in lunar shadow: 
You can have it for $199.95. The 18K gold-plated locket is inscribed with the words "I love you to the Moon and back," and opens to hold a personal photo or other small item. It comes with a greeting card showing the locket in flight and telling the story of its journey to the edge of space during the total eclipse.
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Realtime Comet Photo Gallery
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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 May 13, 2024, the network reported 3 fireballs.
(2 sporadics, 1 epsilon Lyrid)  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 13, 2024 there were 2349 potentially hazardous asteroids.
 | Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters: | Asteroid | Date(UT) | Miss Distance | Velocity (km/s) | Diameter (m) | | 2024 JO10 | 2024-May-08 | 8.2 LD | 12.4 | 35 | | 2024 JX1 | 2024-May-08 | 5 LD | 20 | 21 | | 2024 JA15 | 2024-May-08 | 2.7 LD | 14.8 | 35 | | 2024 JD | 2024-May-08 | 0.7 LD | 3.3 | 11 | | 2024 JG1 | 2024-May-08 | 10.5 LD | 12.3 | 24 | | 2024 JL3 | 2024-May-08 | 1 LD | 18.5 | 19 | | 2024 JM1 | 2024-May-09 | 10.9 LD | 10.4 | 26 | | 2024 JX8 | 2024-May-09 | 8.2 LD | 7.1 | 14 | | 2024 JU14 | 2024-May-09 | 12 LD | 13.5 | 26 | | 2024 JZ | 2024-May-09 | 11 LD | 25.1 | 69 | | 2024 JT3 | 2024-May-09 | 0.1 LD | 10.9 | 5 | | 2024 JN3 | 2024-May-09 | 0.8 LD | 13 | 15 | | 2024 JE15 | 2024-May-09 | 3.8 LD | 7.5 | 16 | | 2024 JR3 | 2024-May-09 | 2.4 LD | 19.1 | 19 | | 2024 JF8 | 2024-May-10 | 17.2 LD | 8.3 | 23 | | 2021 JG9 | 2024-May-10 | 16.9 LD | 16.1 | 32 | | 2016 FT14 | 2024-May-10 | 19.9 LD | 5.9 | 39 | | 2024 JK1 | 2024-May-10 | 6.9 LD | 9.7 | 19 | | 2024 JB9 | 2024-May-10 | 11.3 LD | 8 | 18 | | 2024 JV6 | 2024-May-10 | 1.6 LD | 9.4 | 8 | | 2024 JT11 | 2024-May-11 | 9.4 LD | 7.7 | 20 | | 2024 JK15 | 2024-May-11 | 3.5 LD | 22 | 22 | | 2024 JN | 2024-May-12 | 4.4 LD | 3.3 | 8 | | 2024 JB2 | 2024-May-13 | 11.6 LD | 17.7 | 80 | | 2024 JQ12 | 2024-May-13 | 4.7 LD | 3 | 7 | | 2024 JP16 | 2024-May-13 | 12.3 LD | 5.4 | 19 | | 2024 JP10 | 2024-May-13 | 18.8 LD | 25.3 | 69 | | 2015 KJ19 | 2024-May-14 | 15.8 LD | 23.1 | 112 | | 2014 WF6 | 2024-May-14 | 7.2 LD | 18.9 | 47 | | 2024 JN16 | 2024-May-14 | 0.1 LD | 9.3 | 4 | | 2024 JW6 | 2024-May-14 | 5.7 LD | 8.6 | 17 | | 2024 JD15 | 2024-May-14 | 4.4 LD | 19.5 | 14 | | 2021 JN10 | 2024-May-15 | 14.7 LD | 13.4 | 33 | | 2024 JH15 | 2024-May-15 | 1.4 LD | 14.1 | 13 | | 2021 JJ | 2024-May-15 | 16.8 LD | 5.7 | 28 | | 2024 JQ16 | 2024-May-16 | 7 LD | 6.1 | 15 | | 2024 JG6 | 2024-May-17 | 11.2 LD | 7.4 | 20 | | 2022 WN2 | 2024-May-17 | 13.7 LD | 5.5 | 6 | | 2024 JG8 | 2024-May-17 | 6.2 LD | 6.1 | 14 | | 2024 JQ1 | 2024-May-18 | 5.7 LD | 3 | 13 | | 2024 JK8 | 2024-May-19 | 6 LD | 9.8 | 16 | | 2024 JD1 | 2024-May-20 | 19 LD | 5.5 | 27 | | 2015 WO1 | 2024-May-20 | 7.4 LD | 15.6 | 86 | | 2024 JP12 | 2024-May-21 | 11 LD | 6.3 | 18 | | 2019 VB5 | 2024-May-21 | 7.8 LD | 6.3 | 2 | | 2024 JG15 | 2024-May-22 | 6.7 LD | 10.8 | 65 | | 2024 JZ6 | 2024-May-23 | 14.6 LD | 13.9 | 290 | | 2024 HP | 2024-May-23 | 15.5 LD | 7.7 | 200 | | 2024 JX14 | 2024-May-23 | 16.4 LD | 6.2 | 27 | | 2024 HP2 | 2024-May-25 | 5.8 LD | 2.3 | 20 | | 2024 JY1 | 2024-May-26 | 17.5 LD | 10.3 | 56 | | 2024 JO16 | 2024-May-27 | 8 LD | 8.8 | 20 | | 2008 LD | 2024-May-28 | 7.7 LD | 4.5 | 6 | | 2021 LV | 2024-May-29 | 12 LD | 15.5 | 9 | | 2024 JG | 2024-May-29 | 8.7 LD | 7.4 | 28 | | 2024 JA3 | 2024-May-30 | 6.2 LD | 8.5 | 37 | | 2008 XH | 2024-May-31 | 13.8 LD | 14.7 | 102 | | 2024 JP1 | 2024-Jun-01 | 18.5 LD | 4.7 | 25 | | 2024 JC1 | 2024-Jun-01 | 15.1 LD | 4.8 | 30 | | 1998 KY26 | 2024-Jun-01 | 12 LD | 5.3 | 25 | | 2016 JC6 | 2024-Jun-01 | 19.9 LD | 7.1 | 188 | | 2008 YN2 | 2024-Jun-05 | 10.5 LD | 7.7 | 20 | | 2021 LW3 | 2024-Jun-06 | 9.7 LD | 9.8 | 86 | | 2024 CR9 | 2024-Jun-11 | 19.2 LD | 7.4 | 447 | | 2022 XC1 | 2024-Jun-12 | 16.5 LD | 6.5 | 21 | | 2022 WW11 | 2024-Jun-17 | 19.7 LD | 14.4 | 15 | | 2019 NJ | 2024-Jun-27 | 17.2 LD | 10.1 | 66 | | 415029 | 2024-Jun-27 | 17.3 LD | 25.9 | 2304 | | 2022 MM1 | 2024-Jun-28 | 7.8 LD | 10.9 | 39 | | 2010 XN | 2024-Jun-28 | 14.1 LD | 11.3 | 52 | | 2022 HD1 | 2024-Jun-29 | 17.3 LD | 7.2 | 63 | | 2017 MB3 | 2024-Jun-30 | 5 LD | 6.5 | 30 | | 2022 BY39 | 2024-Jul-02 | 13.2 LD | 3 | 4 | | 2022 YS5 | 2024-Jul-11 | 11 LD | 5.8 | 38 | 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. See also, all satellite statistics. | | | 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 |  | Marketing yourself on YouTube is hard without real organic views on your videos. You can buy organic YouTube views from and enjoy social boosting that is actually real. Highly recommended! | | When looking for casinos to play online when the weather is bad, you can try the SkyCity Online Casino if you are located in New Zealand. If you are not from NZ 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. | |
