 | | | Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica Credit: NOAA/Ovation  Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 1.67 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 2.33 quiet
explanation | more data
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 3.45 nT
Bz: 2.87 nT north
more data: ACE, DSCOVR
Updated: Today at 1145 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 14 2200 UTC FLARE | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | CLASS M | 75 % | 40 % | CLASS X | 40 % | 15 % | 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 14 2200 UTC Mid-latitudes | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | ACTIVE | 35 % | 20 % | MINOR | 30 % | 05 % | SEVERE | 10 % | 01 % | High latitudes | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | ACTIVE | 10 % | 15 % | MINOR | 20 % | 25 % | SEVERE | 65 % | 25 % | | | |  | | | | | | | | | | | 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. | | | GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH (G2): The big storm is over. Now for the little storm. NOAA forecasters say that minor (G1) to moderate (G2) geomagnetic storms are possible today in response to a glancing-blow CME from departing sunspot AR3664. Aurora alerts: SMS Text STRONGEST SOLAR FLARE OF THE CURRENT CYCLE: Sunspot AR3664 just unleashed the strongest solar flare of the current solar cycle--an X8.7-category blast from beyond the sun's western limb. X marks the spot in this image of the flare from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory: 
Because the sunspot is behind the edge of the solar disk, the flare was partially eclipsed. It was probably even stronger than it appeared. "X8.7" is almost certainly an underestimate of the flare's true strength. Extreme ultraviolet radiation from the flare ionized the top of Earth's atmosphere, causing a deep shortwave radio blackout over the Americas. Ham radio operators, aviators and mariners may have noticed a sudden loss of signal at all frequencies below 30 MHz. Subatomic debris from this event might soon reach Earth, guided toward our planet by the Parker Spiral (read the story below for more information). Also, a CME might be in the offing. Stay tuned for updates! Solar flare alerts: SMS Text Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter EARTH IS CONNECTED TO SUNSPOT AR3664: Giant sunspot AR3664 is no longer facing Earth. That makes it extra dangerous. The Carrington-class sunspot is passing over the sun's western limb--a region of the sun that is magnetically connected to our planet. Indeed, we are feeling the effects of that connection right now; take a look at this map of ongoing radio blackouts: 
Red zones in the map show where shortwave radio signals are being absorbed. Inside the Arctic Circle, frequencies below 30 MHz are almost completely blacked out, a nuisance for polar aviators and ham radio operators. What's causing this? Protons accelerated by solar flares in the magnetic canopy of AR3664 are following the Parker Spiral back to Earth. Think of it as a magnetic superhighway. The arriving particles are funneled by our planet's magnetic field toward the poles where they ionize the atmosphere and interfere with the normal transmission of shortwave radio. This polar cap absorption event could last for days, especially if it is boosted by more flares from AR3664. You can can monitor its progress here. 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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Realtime Space Weather 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 14, 2024 there were 2349 potentially hazardous asteroids.
 | Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters: | Asteroid | Date(UT) | Miss Distance | Velocity (km/s) | Diameter (m) | | 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 | 78 | | 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 | 15 | | 2024 JY16 | 2024-May-15 | 0.9 LD | 16.8 | 39 | | 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 | 276 | | 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 | 31 | | 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. | |
