 | | | Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica Credit: NOAA/Ovation  Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 1.67 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 3.33 quiet
explanation | more data
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 4.04 nT
Bz: -0.73 nT south
more data: ACE, DSCOVR
Updated: Today at 1146 UT Coronal Holes: 05 Aug 24 
There are no significant 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 Aug. 5, 2024, the Arctic stratosphere is much too warm for Type II polar stratospheric clouds. | more data. Noctilucent Clouds
They're back! The northern season for NLCs is underway. The first clouds were detected inside the Arctic Circle on May 25, 2024, by the NOAA 21 satellite. The clouds have since spread, and now observers are seeing from the ground as well:
Updated: Aug. 04, 2024
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: 2024 Aug 05 2200 UTC FLARE | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | CLASS M | 75 % | 75 % | CLASS X | 25 % | 25 % | 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 Aug 05 2200 UTC Mid-latitudes | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | ACTIVE | 20 % | 10 % | MINOR | 05 % | 01 % | SEVERE | 01 % | 01 % | High latitudes | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | ACTIVE | 15 % | 15 % | MINOR | 30 % | 20 % | SEVERE | 25 % | 15 % | | | |  | | | | | | | | | | | 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. | | | X-CLASS SOLAR FLARES: Earth-orbiting satellites have detected two strong X-class solar flares on Aug. 5th. One (X1.7) came from departing sunspot AR3767 near the sun's western limb, the other (X1.1) from giant new sunspot AR3780 near the eastern limb. Shortwave radio blackouts occured over the Atlantic Ocean and the Americas as a result of the flares. More X-flares are in the offing especially from AR3780. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text CALIFORNIA AURORAS: A close encounter with a CME during the early hours of Aug. 4th sparked a strong G3-class geomagnetic storm. "A beautiful aurora lit up the northern sky from the White Mountains of California at 37°N latitude near the town of Bishop," reports photographer Chris Cook, who took this picture just before local sunrise: 
"From my Bortle 2 location not far from a forest of ancient Bristlecone Pines, the display was easily visible to the eye including faint pillars," says Cook. Mid-latitude auroras were also seen in Colorado, New Zealand and China. The storm is over now. However, isolated episodes of minor G1 storming could re-occur as Earth exits the CME's wake on Aug. 5th. Aurora alerts: SMS Text Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter 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 Space Weather Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
Realtime Comet Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
Realtime Noctilucent Cloud 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 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 5, 2024 there were 2349 potentially hazardous asteroids.
 | Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters: | Asteroid | Date(UT) | Miss Distance | Velocity (km/s) | Diameter (m) | | 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 | 15 | | 2024 OJ2 | 2024-Aug-03 | 18.7 LD | 10.4 | 36 | | 2024 PQ | 2024-Aug-04 | 2.6 LD | 5.3 | 10 | | 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 | 38 | | 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 | 308 | | 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 |  | 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. | | 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! | | 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. | |
