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BIG SUNSPOT ALERT: A potentially significant sunspot group is emerging over the sun's southeastern limb, right here. Astronomers are encouraged to monitor the active region, which may be unusually large and a source of strong flares. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
THE STORM IS SUBSIDING: A close encounter with a CME during the early hours of Aug. 4th sparked a strong G3-class geomagnetic storm. Just before sunrise in Colorado, "we saw a nice display of auroras," reports Aaron Watson, who sends this picture from Grand Mesa, CO:
"There was a brief burst of color at the start of the storm just after 3 am local time (9:00 UTC), then it faded for awhile, then came back even stronger just before morning twilight," says Watson. "Once it got going, the aurora was visible as a glow to the north with the unaided eye, although I couldn't distinguish the pink hue without the camera."
Storm levels are now subsiding to category G1 (Minor). This will cause auroras to withdraw toward the Arctic Circle. Nevertheless, camera-only (too faint for the naked eye) auroras may still be photographed across central Europe and northern-tier US states during the night of Aug. 4-5. Aurora alerts: SMS Text
more images: from Dan Bush of Albany, Missouri; from Harlan Thomas of Carstairs, Alberta; from David Sweeney of Lake Stevens, Washington
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
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A CONVERSATION BETWEEN SUNSPOTS: Sunspots do like to talk to one another. Yesterday, Aug. 3rd, sunspot AR3775 produced a strong M7.3-class solar flare. An unnamed sunspot just behind the sun's eastern limb quickly responded with its own M5.4-class explosion:
These are called "sympathetic solar flares"--that is, pairs of explosions that occur almost simultaneously in widely-spaced active regions. Long ago, researchers assumed the eruptions were just coincidence, but a 2002 study proved otherwise. Some sunspots are linked by nearly-invisible magnetic loops in the sun's corona. Instabilities can rapidly travel from one to another, creating a chain reaction of explosions.
If AR3775 is indeed linked to the unseen sunspot, more twin flares may be in the offing as both turn toward Earth in the days ahead. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
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STERLING SILVER GEOMAGNETIC CAT: On May 10, 2024, a CME slammed into Earth's magnetic field, sparking the biggest geomagnetic storm in 35 years. Moments later, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched a cosmic ray balloon directly into the storm. The Geomagnetic Cat Pendant went along for the ride:
This sterling silver feline floated through the stratosphere for 3 hours during the storm, gathering radiation data for the students' monitoring program. Later, when the sun set and the sky grew dark, red and green auroras danced above the Sierra Nevada mountains of California where the balloon was launched.
You can have it for $249.95. The pendant comes with a greeting card showing the cat in flight and telling the story of its journey to the stratosphere and back. This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime gift.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
Realtime Comet Photo Gallery
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Realtime Noctilucent Cloud 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 Aug 04, 2024, the network reported 42 fireballs.
(25 sporadics, 16 Perseids, 1 southern 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 4, 2024 there were 2349 potentially hazardous asteroids.
 |
Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters: | Asteroid | Date(UT) | Miss Distance | Velocity (km/s) | Diameter (m) |
| 2024 OS1 | 2024-Jul-30 | 12 LD | 14.1 | 46 |
| 2024 PC | 2024-Jul-30 | 3.2 LD | 6.8 | 19 |
| 2024 OT1 | 2024-Jul-30 | 2.2 LD | 14.6 | 17 |
| 2024 OO | 2024-Aug-01 | 5.2 LD | 11.3 | 28 |
| 2024 OE | 2024-Aug-01 | 3.9 LD | 9.3 | 63 |
| 2024 NS1 | 2024-Aug-02 | 5.3 LD | 7.6 | 45 |
| 2020 PN1 | 2024-Aug-02 | 18 LD | 5.5 | 29 |
| 2024 PA | 2024-Aug-02 | 17.7 LD | 8.1 | 36 |
| 2024 PO | 2024-Aug-03 | 3.6 LD | 11.5 | 14 |
| 2024 OJ2 | 2024-Aug-03 | 18.7 LD | 10.4 | 36 |
| 2024 OC | 2024-Aug-04 | 19.4 LD | 10 | 132 |
| 2023 HB7 | 2024-Aug-05 | 14.7 LD | 6.1 | 32 |
| 2017 TU1 | 2024-Aug-05 | 10.1 LD | 10.1 | 22 |
| 2024 PE | 2024-Aug-06 | 4.7 LD | 16.2 | 27 |
| 2024 OF2 | 2024-Aug-06 | 10.3 LD | 12.1 | 44 |
| 2024 OR1 | 2024-Aug-06 | 8.9 LD | 8.4 | 35 |
| 2024 OM1 | 2024-Aug-06 | 3.7 LD | 12.2 | 51 |
| 2024 KH3 | 2024-Aug-10 | 14.6 LD | 11.4 | 192 |
| 2024 ON2 | 2024-Aug-12 | 17.8 LD | 14.1 | 36 |
| 2024 OA3 | 2024-Aug-12 | 19.6 LD | 26.4 | 111 |
| 2024 OS | 2024-Aug-13 | 20 LD | 7 | 28 |
| 2024 OB2 | 2024-Aug-14 | 19.9 LD | 19.4 | 71 |
| 2021 GY1 | 2024-Aug-16 | 17.7 LD | 6.3 | 59 |
| 2024 OY2 | 2024-Aug-17 | 4.3 LD | 5.7 | 33 |
| 2024 JV33 | 2024-Aug-19 | 12 LD | 11.1 | 205 |
| 2022 BF2 | 2024-Aug-19 | 19.7 LD | 16.4 | 91 |
| 2020 RL | 2024-Aug-27 | 12.2 LD | 8.2 | 34 |
| 2021 RA10 | 2024-Aug-28 | 6.8 LD | 4.9 | 29 |
| 2012 SX49 | 2024-Aug-29 | 11.2 LD | 4.3 | 20 |
| 2016 RJ20 | 2024-Aug-30 | 18.3 LD | 14.8 | 68 |
| 2021 JT | 2024-Sep-01 | 16.4 LD | 8.2 | 12 |
| 2021 RB16 | 2024-Sep-02 | 12.3 LD | 8.4 | 15 |
| 2007 RX8 | 2024-Sep-02 | 18.5 LD | 7 | 44 |
| 2022 SR | 2024-Sep-07 | 9.1 LD | 6.3 | 42 |
| 2023 SP2 | 2024-Sep-09 | 15.3 LD | 4.2 | 8 |
| 2016 TU19 | 2024-Sep-11 | 13.2 LD | 10.1 | 47 |
| 2019 DJ1 | 2024-Sep-15 | 10.4 LD | 4.9 | 15 |
| 2024 ON | 2024-Sep-17 | 2.6 LD | 8.9 | 310 |
| 2013 FW13 | 2024-Sep-18 | 8.5 LD | 15.6 | 162 |
| 2022 SW3 | 2024-Sep-19 | 6.8 LD | 9.2 | 37 |
| 2015 SH | 2024-Sep-19 | 11.6 LD | 5.9 | 9 |
| 2023 RX1 | 2024-Sep-20 | 10.1 LD | 1.1 | 3 |
| 2018 VG | 2024-Sep-20 | 13.4 LD | 7.3 | 12 |
| 2020 GE | 2024-Sep-24 | 1.7 LD | 2.2 | 8 |
| 2011 ST12 | 2024-Sep-27 | 17.6 LD | 7.4 | 19 |
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 |
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