 | | | Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica Credit: NOAA/Ovation  Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 3.33 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 5.33 storm
explanation | more data
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 10.80 nT
Bz: 8.20 nT north
more data: ACE, DSCOVR
Updated: Today at 1146 UT Coronal Holes: 17 Dec 23 
Solar wind flowing from this coronal hole could reach Earth on Dec. 19-20.Credit: SDO/AIA  Noctilucent Clouds
The northern season for NLCs began on May 26th. The first clouds were detected inside the Arctic Circle by the NOAA 21 satellite. An instrument onboard NOAA 21 (OMPS LP) is able to detect NLCs (also known as "polar mesospheric clouds" or PMCs). For the rest of the season, daily maps from NOAA 21 will be presented here:
Updated: Aug. 29, 2023
Each dot is a detected cloud. As the season progresses, these dots will multiply in number and shift in hue from blue to red as the brightness of the clouds intensifies.
What happened to NASA's AIM spacecraft, which has been monitoring NLCs since 2007? Earlier this year, the spacecraft's battery failed. As a result AIM is offline, perhaps permanently. There may be some hope of a recovery as AIM's orbit precesses into full sunlight in 2024. Until then, we will maintain AIM's iconic "daily daisy," frozen at Feb. 28, 2023, as a show of thanks for years of service and hope for future daisies:  | | | Switch view:Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctic Peninsula, East Antarctica, Polar Updated Dec17 SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts | | Updated at: 2023 Dec 17 2200 UTC FLARE | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | CLASS M | 25 % | 10 % | CLASS X | 05 % | 01 % | Geomagnetic Storms:
Probabilities for significant disturbances in Earth's magnetic field are given for three activity levels: active, minor storm, severe storm Updated at: 2023 Dec 17 2200 UTC Mid-latitudes | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | ACTIVE | 30 % | 25 % | MINOR | 15 % | 10 % | SEVERE | 01 % | 01 % | High latitudes | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | ACTIVE | 15 % | 15 % | MINOR | 20 % | 20 % | SEVERE | 20 % | 20 % | | | |  | | | | | | | | | | | This is an AI Free Zone! Text created by ChatGPT and other 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. | | | WAITING FOR THE SOLAR STORM: A CME expected to hit Earth on Dec. 16th has not yet arrived, but NOAA forecasters believe it is still coming. The storm cloud was hurled in our direction by last Thursday's X2.8-class solar flare. An overdue impact on Dec. 17th could cause G1 (Minor) to G2-class (Moderate) geomagnetic storms with auroras across northern-tier US states. CME impact alerts: SMS Text THIS IS WHAT A RADIO BLACKOUT SOUNDS LIKE: On Dec. 14th, the sun silenced radio transmissions on Earth. An X2.8-class solar flare (the strongest flare of the current solar cycle, so far) ionized the top of our atmosphere, disrupting shortwave transmissions across the Americas. In rural New Mexico, amateur radio astronomer Thomas Ashcraft recorded the blackout: 
"As my dynamic spectrum shows, all terrestrial shortwave radio transmissions coming into New Mexico faded for 10 to 15 minutes after the flare," says Ashcraft. "The blackout affected all frequencies below 30 MHz." The blackout was not completely silent, however. Minutes after it began, the sun filled the quietude with a roar of static. It was a Type II solar radio burst caused by shock waves in the leading edge of a CME emerging from the blast site. "The shock wave packed a punch!" says Ashcraft. "You can hear what it sounded like in this 90 second audio file." Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter AMBER DRAGONFLY SPACE PENDANT: This dragonfly has touched space. On Nov. 28th, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched it to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon, 109,228 feet above California's Sierra Nevada: 
You can have it for $179.95. Made of genuine Baltic Amber with a sterling silver exoskeleton, the pendant measures 1 1/4 inch and comes with a matching 18-inch sterling silver chain. The wings of the dragonfly include four pieces of natural amber colored Cognac, Olive Green and Honey Yellow. The students are selling space pendants to pay the helium bill for their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the jewelry in flight and telling the story of its trip to the stratosphere and back again.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
Realtime Comet 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 Dec 16, 2023, the network reported 160 fireballs.
(109 Geminids, 46 sporadics, 3 December Monocerotids, 1 Comae Berenicids, 1 sigma Hydrid)  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 December 17, 2023 there were 2349 potentially hazardous asteroids.
| Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters: | Asteroid | Date(UT) | Miss Distance | Velocity (km/s) | Diameter (m) | | 2023 XN3 | 2023-Dec-12 | 13.7 LD | 8.4 | 16 | | 2023 WO3 | 2023-Dec-12 | 9.3 LD | 9.3 | 42 | | 2023 XO14 | 2023-Dec-12 | 2.6 LD | 3.6 | 5 | | 2023 XZ2 | 2023-Dec-12 | 3.4 LD | 6.7 | 10 | | 2023 XO1 | 2023-Dec-12 | 4.3 LD | 7.2 | 14 | | 2023 XR14 | 2023-Dec-13 | 1.2 LD | 10.3 | 8 | | 2023 XH7 | 2023-Dec-13 | 2.5 LD | 19.8 | 11 | | 2023 XQ16 | 2023-Dec-13 | 0.3 LD | 3.2 | 3 | | 2023 YA | 2023-Dec-14 | 4.1 LD | 10.1 | 36 | | 2023 XU4 | 2023-Dec-14 | 3.9 LD | 6.2 | 12 | | 2023 XB12 | 2023-Dec-14 | 13.1 LD | 4.9 | 27 | | 2023 XO10 | 2023-Dec-14 | 10.5 LD | 16.5 | 18 | | 2023 XB3 | 2023-Dec-14 | 13.9 LD | 9.9 | 15 | | 2023 XN15 | 2023-Dec-15 | 1.9 LD | 19.7 | 17 | | 2023 XZ11 | 2023-Dec-15 | 3.7 LD | 14.7 | 33 | | 2023 WV23 | 2023-Dec-15 | 5.2 LD | 6.6 | 60 | | 2023 XL4 | 2023-Dec-15 | 11.4 LD | 6.6 | 22 | | 2023 XK10 | 2023-Dec-15 | 17.7 LD | 13.6 | 44 | | 2023 XY2 | 2023-Dec-15 | 9.7 LD | 13.4 | 35 | | 2023 XU12 | 2023-Dec-15 | 12.7 LD | 4.7 | 14 | | 2023 XK4 | 2023-Dec-15 | 3.4 LD | 4.2 | 15 | | 2023 XV2 | 2023-Dec-15 | 15.9 LD | 6.5 | 23 | | 2023 XS14 | 2023-Dec-15 | 8 LD | 14.8 | 25 | | 2023 XJ13 | 2023-Dec-16 | 9.7 LD | 9.2 | 14 | | 2023 XJ10 | 2023-Dec-17 | 8.3 LD | 16.1 | 29 | | 2023 XL14 | 2023-Dec-17 | 1.5 LD | 6.3 | 9 | | 2023 XH1 | 2023-Dec-17 | 15.2 LD | 5.4 | 17 | | 2023 XA14 | 2023-Dec-17 | 10.7 LD | 5.4 | 12 | | 2023 XL11 | 2023-Dec-18 | 6.2 LD | 11.7 | 17 | | 2023 XF2 | 2023-Dec-19 | 9.8 LD | 8 | 22 | | 2016 XD2 | 2023-Dec-19 | 18.8 LD | 6.9 | 59 | | 2023 XS | 2023-Dec-19 | 11.5 LD | 9.1 | 31 | | 341843 | 2023-Dec-20 | 16.5 LD | 5.3 | 344 | | 2023 YB | 2023-Dec-21 | 8.8 LD | 11.2 | 28 | | 2018 YJ2 | 2023-Dec-21 | 18.4 LD | 13.1 | 154 | | 2022 YG | 2023-Dec-22 | 11.2 LD | 5.1 | 17 | | 2023 VD6 | 2023-Dec-23 | 10.6 LD | 15.5 | 159 | | 2023 XN10 | 2023-Dec-23 | 18.4 LD | 9.9 | 67 | | 2020 YO3 | 2023-Dec-23 | 3.6 LD | 16.6 | 42 | | 2023 XN11 | 2023-Dec-24 | 9.3 LD | 10.4 | 42 | | 2010 UE51 | 2023-Dec-24 | 9 LD | 1.3 | 7 | | 2023 XP13 | 2023-Dec-24 | 11.8 LD | 18.7 | 26 | | 2023 XK16 | 2023-Dec-25 | 8.7 LD | 7.4 | 38 | | 2020 YR2 | 2023-Dec-25 | 13.8 LD | 8 | 8 | | 2023 XJ3 | 2023-Dec-25 | 16.5 LD | 9.2 | 54 | | 2020 KT4 | 2023-Dec-25 | 13.4 LD | 7.3 | 76 | | 2023 XO7 | 2023-Dec-26 | 6.3 LD | 6.7 | 22 | | 2023 XE12 | 2023-Dec-31 | 14.7 LD | 11.8 | 42 | | 2021 AM6 | 2023-Dec-31 | 18.3 LD | 6.6 | 17 | | 2019 KK5 | 2024-Jan-03 | 10.6 LD | 20.9 | 98 | | 2002 AY1 | 2024-Jan-08 | 15.2 LD | 17.3 | 230 | | 2023 XN13 | 2024-Jan-09 | 15.7 LD | 1.4 | 8 | | 2023 XT14 | 2024-Jan-10 | 12.2 LD | 6.4 | 27 | | 2020 AC1 | 2024-Jan-11 | 19.3 LD | 5.3 | 7 | | 2023 WZ3 | 2024-Jan-11 | 16.1 LD | 4 | 35 | | 2021 CZ2 | 2024-Jan-16 | 8 LD | 14.3 | 113 | | 2021 BL3 | 2024-Jan-23 | 17.2 LD | 23.4 | 41 | | 2017 BG92 | 2024-Jan-25 | 11.8 LD | 6.3 | 6 | | 2011 CQ1 | 2024-Jan-26 | 11.3 LD | 4.6 | 1 | | 2007 EG | 2024-Jan-30 | 16 LD | 8.6 | 43 | | 2008 OS7 | 2024-Feb-02 | 7.5 LD | 18.2 | 285 | | 2019 CC5 | 2024-Feb-04 | 19.2 LD | 15 | 139 | | 2023 SP1 | 2024-Feb-07 | 14.3 LD | 11.8 | 256 | | 2020 DK | 2024-Feb-12 | 8.9 LD | 9.9 | 22 | 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 |  | 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. | |
