 | | | Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica Credit: NOAA/Ovation  Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 4.00 unsettled
24-hr max: Kp= 5.33 storm
explanation | more data
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 12.24 nT
Bz: -1.44 nT south
more data: ACE, DSCOVR
Updated: Today at 1146 UT Coronal Holes: 02 May 25 
There are no large equatorial coronal holes on the Earthside of the sun. Credit: NASA/SDO | more data  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 02, 2025, the Arctic stratosphere is much too hot for polar stratospheric clouds. | more data. Noctilucent Clouds
The southern season for noctilucent clouds (NLCs) is finished. The first clouds were detected over Antarctica on Nov. 19, 2024, and they vanished again on Feb. 21, 2025. The action will shift to the north pole in late May 2025. Until then, the map will remain blank.
Updated: Feb. 21, 2025
An instrument onboard NOAA 21 (OMPS LP) is able to detect NLCs (also known as "polar mesospheric clouds" or PMCs). In the daily map, above, 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.
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts | | Updated at: 2025 May 02 2200 UTC FLARE | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | CLASS M | 35 % | 35 % | CLASS X | 05 % | 05 % | Geomagnetic Storms:
Probabilities for significant disturbances in Earth's magnetic field are given for three activity levels: active, minor storm, severe storm Updated at: 2025 May 02 2200 UTC Mid-latitudes | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | ACTIVE | 30 % | 25 % | MINOR | 10 % | 10 % | SEVERE | 01 % | 01 % | High latitudes | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | ACTIVE | 15 % | 15 % | MINOR | 30 % | 25 % | SEVERE | 40 % | 35 % | | | |  | | | | | | | | | | | This is an AI Free Zone: Text created by Large Language Models is spreading across the Internet. It's well-written, but frequently inaccurate. If you find a mistake on Spaceweather.com, rest assured it was made by a real human being. | | | GEOMAGNETIC STORMS ARE POSSIBLE TODAY: NOAA forecasters say that minor G1-class geomagnetic storms are possible today, May 2nd, as a fast-moving stream of solar wind buffets Earth's magnetic field. There is a slight chance the storm could escalate to category G2. If so, auroras would be visible after nightfall in northern-tier US states. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text A GIANT RING OF ELLERMAN BOMBS: Astronomers are monitoring the largest sunspot of 2025. Sunspot 4079 stretches more than 140,000 km from end to end and has two dark cores each large enough to swallow Earth. These dimensions make it an easy target for backyard solar telescopes. French amateur astronomer Philippe Tosi took a look and found a giant ring of Ellerman Bombs: 
A handful of Ellerman bombs are circled for reference. The complete ring contains more than 100.
Ellerman bombs are magnetic explosions about one-millionth as powerful as a true solar flare. They look like pinpoints of light, flickering on and off in the sun's atmosphere. Named after physicist Ferdinand Ellerman who studied them in the early 20th century, a single Ellerman bomb releases about 1026 ergs of energy--equal to ~100,000 World War II atomic bombs. Tosi's photo captured about 100 of these bombs going off all at once. Ellerman bombs are a sign of magnetic complexity in a sunspot. Opposite polarities bump together, reconnect, and--boom! A full-fledged flare may not be far behind. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text Bonus: Something else is happening to this large sunspot. Its primary dark cores are slowly revolving like they're in mutual orbit. This 3-day movie from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory shows the phenomenon: 
We don't know if they will complete a full revolution. However, these motions may be twisting the magnetic underpinnings of the sunspot group, creating a tension that makes solar flares more likely. more images: from Chris Schur of Payson, Arizona; from Alessandro Gambaro of Castano Primo (MI) - Italy; from Mariano Ribas of Buenos Aires, Argentina; from Efrain Morales of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico; Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter BLACK MOONCAT EARRINGS: For the first time ever, earrings have flown to the edge of space. On April 20, 2025, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched a cosmic ray research balloon, and these Black Mooncat Earrings went along for the ride:
You can have a pair for $149.95. Supported by a sterling silver frame, each black cat is curled around a genuine blue moonstone. The earrings floated through the stratosphere for almost 3 hours, reaching a peak altitude of 110,555 feet. They're the perfect companion for the Geomagnetic Black Cat Pendant. Each pair of earrings comes with a greeting card showing the jewelry in flight and telling the story of their trip to the stratosphere and back. 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 May 02, 2025, the network reported 10 fireballs.
(10 sporadics)  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 2, 2025 there were 2349 potentially hazardous asteroids.
 | Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters: | Asteroid | Date(UT) | Miss Distance | Velocity (km/s) | Diameter (m) | | 2025 HV | 2025-Apr-27 | 14.6 LD | 16.5 | 48 | | 2025 HO2 | 2025-Apr-27 | 7 LD | 7.9 | 48 | | 2025 HS1 | 2025-Apr-27 | 14.5 LD | 11.3 | 30 | | 2025 HY | 2025-Apr-27 | 10.7 LD | 10.7 | 18 | | 2025 HB7 | 2025-Apr-27 | 12.8 LD | 12.9 | 26 | | 2025 HP4 | 2025-Apr-28 | 0.9 LD | 10.1 | 11 | | 2025 HL3 | 2025-Apr-28 | 14 LD | 7.6 | 42 | | 2025 HQ4 | 2025-Apr-28 | 4.8 LD | 13.4 | 22 | | 2025 HN4 | 2025-Apr-28 | 1.7 LD | 8 | 13 | | 2025 HG2 | 2025-Apr-28 | 6.4 LD | 4.9 | 10 | | 2025 HW1 | 2025-Apr-28 | 3.2 LD | 19.7 | 26 | | 2025 HA19 | 2025-Apr-29 | 7.2 LD | 12.7 | 43 | | 2025 HL5 | 2025-Apr-29 | 1.6 LD | 8.4 | 26 | | 2025 HS18 | 2025-Apr-29 | 5 LD | 8.3 | 12 | | 2025 HM6 | 2025-Apr-29 | 5.2 LD | 10.8 | 13 | | 2025 HM4 | 2025-Apr-30 | 2 LD | 18.9 | 21 | | 2025 GT1 | 2025-May-01 | 11.2 LD | 11.1 | 36 | | 2024 BF | 2025-May-01 | 9.5 LD | 4.6 | 46 | | 2025 HP22 | 2025-May-02 | 1.3 LD | 10.9 | 7 | | 2025 JA | 2025-May-02 | 1.3 LD | 5.3 | 9 | | 2025 HJ5 | 2025-May-02 | 10.9 LD | 7.8 | 15 | | 2025 HR1 | 2025-May-02 | 12.6 LD | 6.3 | 13 | | 2024 JM2 | 2025-May-03 | 7.2 LD | 11.3 | 62 | | 2025 HN3 | 2025-May-04 | 7.9 LD | 14 | 30 | | 2025 HF5 | 2025-May-06 | 3.5 LD | 4.3 | 25 | | 2021 JN1 | 2025-May-06 | 18.3 LD | 16.3 | 39 | | 2025 HY2 | 2025-May-07 | 17.8 LD | 13.6 | 38 | | 2021 HZ | 2025-May-08 | 20 LD | 10.2 | 30 | | 612356 | 2025-May-09 | 11 LD | 5.1 | 305 | | 2021 KH | 2025-May-10 | 18.3 LD | 7.2 | 19 | | 2011 HJ7 | 2025-May-12 | 6.6 LD | 15.8 | 118 | | 2011 YU74 | 2025-May-13 | 11.4 LD | 5 | 90 | | 2025 DT50 | 2025-May-14 | 16 LD | 6.4 | 105 | | 2025 HD19 | 2025-May-17 | 7.3 LD | 9 | 28 | | 2008 ST | 2025-May-20 | 13.5 LD | 2.5 | 14 | | 387746 | 2025-May-24 | 17.4 LD | 8.3 | 339 | | 2014 KF22 | 2025-May-25 | 9.1 LD | 11.5 | 19 | | 390725 | 2025-May-25 | 18.4 LD | 13.5 | 410 | | 2025 FU5 | 2025-May-28 | 13.4 LD | 7.3 | 92 | | 2022 KP3 | 2025-May-30 | 10.2 LD | 7.7 | 7 | | 424482 | 2025-Jun-05 | 9.1 LD | 6.2 | 421 | | 2020 LQ | 2025-Jun-06 | 17.3 LD | 11.8 | 34 | | 2018 LE4 | 2025-Jun-07 | 12.2 LD | 13.3 | 62 | | 2014 LL26 | 2025-Jun-08 | 8 LD | 5.2 | 31 | | 2022 KQ5 | 2025-Jun-12 | 13.6 LD | 5.1 | 5 | | 2023 XO15 | 2025-Jun-15 | 17.8 LD | 3.4 | 24 | | 2025 HN6 | 2025-Jun-16 | 6.4 LD | 2.3 | 24 | | 2000 LF3 | 2025-Jun-17 | 18.9 LD | 14.5 | 169 | | 2023 XU2 | 2025-Jun-18 | 11.1 LD | 15.6 | 32 | | 2003 AY2 | 2025-Jun-22 | 14.2 LD | 15.9 | 386 | | 2014 DH | 2025-Jun-28 | 17.1 LD | 12.1 | 17 | 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 10 years, resulting in a unique dataset of in situ atmospheric measurements. Latest results (Nov. 2024): Atmospheric radiation is decreasing in 2024. Our latest measurements in November registered a 10-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 |  | Got a chipped or cracked windshield that prevents you from seeing space weather events while driving? Get windshield replacement from SR Windows & Glass with free mobile auto glass service anywhere in the Phoenix area. | | 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. | |
