 | | | Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica Credit: NOAA/Ovation  Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 2.33 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 2.33 quiet
explanation | more data
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 6.12 nT
Bz: -2.83 nT south
more data: ACE, DSCOVR
Updated: Today at 1151 UT Coronal Holes: 09 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 09, 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 09 2200 UTC FLARE | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | CLASS M | 95 % | 95 % | CLASS X | 60 % | 60 % | 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 09 2200 UTC Mid-latitudes | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | ACTIVE | 35 % | 15 % | MINOR | 30 % | 35 % | SEVERE | 10 % | 50 % | High latitudes | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | ACTIVE | 10 % | 01 % | MINOR | 25 % | 10 % | SEVERE | 65 % | 90 % | | | |  | | | | | | | | | | | 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. | | | GET READY FOR A 'CANNIBAL CME': Multiple CMEs are heading for Earth (see the movie below). A new NOAA forecast model suggests that three of them could merge to form a potent "Cannibal CME." Cannibal CMEs form when fast-moving CMEs overtake slower CMEs in front of them. Internal shock waves created by such CME collisions do an good job sparking geomagnetic storms when they strike Earth's magnetic field. Indeed, NOAA is now predicting a severe storm on May 11th when the Cannibal arrives. CME impact alerts: SMS Text SEVERE GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH: This weekend's geomagnetic storm watch has been upgraded from G2 (Moderate) to G4 (Severe). Why? Because giant sunspot AR3664 keeps hurling CMEs toward Earth. Following today's X2.2 solar flare, there are now at least 4 storm clouds heading our way. See how many you can count in this 24-hour movie from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory: 
A NOAA forecast model predicts that two or three of these CMEs could merge to form a Cannibal CME, which will strike Earth during the early hours of May 11th. Cannibal CMEs are notoriously good at sparking strong geomagnetic storms and low latitude auroras. In fact, NOAA is now predicting a G4-class (Severe) storm on May 11th when the Cannibal arrives. Don't miss the storm! Sign up for Space Weather Alerts to receive instant text messages when the CMEs arrive. Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
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A CARRINGTON-CLASS SUNSPOT: Sunspot AR3664 has grown so large, it now rivals the great Carrington sunspot of 1859. To illustrate their similarity, we've added Carrington's famous sketch (to scale) to a NASA photo of today's sun: 
Sprawling almost 200,000 km from end to end, AR3664 is 15 times wider than Earth. You can see it through ordinary eclipse glasses with no magnification at all. Moreover, it is easy to project an image of this sunspot onto the sidewalk or a white screen just as Carrington did in the 19th century. Carrington's sunspot is famous because in August and Sept. 1859 it emitted a series of intense solar flares and CMEs. The resulting geomagnetic storms set fire to telegraph offices and sparked auroras from Cuba to Hawaii. The "Carrington Event" has since become a touchstone of space weather in pop culture, with recent headlines stoking fears of an "internet apocalypse" if it repeats. Indeed, it could repeat. Studies suggest that Carrington-class storms occur once every 40 to 60 years, so we're overdue. Don't worry, though. The four CMEs currently en route to Earth--even combined--are probably no match for the monster CME of 1859. The Carrington Event won't happen again this weekend. Nevertheless, it would be wise to keep an eye on this growing active region while Earth is in its strike zone. CME impact alerts: SMS Text more images: from Martin Wise of Trenton, Florida; from Stuart Green of Preston, Lancashire, UK; from Francois Rouviere of Cannes, France; from Philippe Tosi of Ariège, France; TAHITIAN BLACK SOLAR ECLIPSE PEARL: It came from Tahiti, and now it has touched the shadow of the Moon. On April 8, 2024, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched this black pearl into a total eclipse of the sun over Texas. Riding on a cosmic ray research balloon, the pearl was 86,564 feet high when lunar darkness swallowed it for 3 minutes 45 seconds: 
You can have it for $299.95. Measuring 9 mm in diameter, this genuine Tahitian pearl has an 18K rose gold clasp and is suspended from a matching 925 Sterling Silver chain. It comes with a greeting card showing the pearl in flight and telling the story of its journey to the edge of space during the 2024 total eclipse.
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Realtime Comet 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 09, 2024, the network reported 7 fireballs.
(5 sporadics, 2 eta Aquarids)  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 9, 2024 there were 2349 potentially hazardous asteroids.
 | Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters: | Asteroid | Date(UT) | Miss Distance | Velocity (km/s) | Diameter (m) | | 2024 JM2 | 2024-May-04 | 6.9 LD | 11.8 | 63 | | 2024 JE | 2024-May-04 | 13.8 LD | 7.8 | 49 | | 2024 HK1 | 2024-May-04 | 1.8 LD | 8.6 | 29 | | 2024 JY | 2024-May-05 | 4.8 LD | 28.9 | 30 | | 2024 HV1 | 2024-May-05 | 3.4 LD | 8.8 | 21 | | 2024 HW1 | 2024-May-05 | 5 LD | 11 | 19 | | 2024 FR5 | 2024-May-05 | 4.9 LD | 5.2 | 49 | | 2024 HL2 | 2024-May-06 | 7.6 LD | 13.4 | 26 | | 2024 HM2 | 2024-May-06 | 17.4 LD | 25 | 51 | | 2024 HE2 | 2024-May-06 | 3.1 LD | 12.1 | 22 | | 2024 JP3 | 2024-May-06 | 12.5 LD | 6.9 | 12 | | 2024 JF | 2024-May-06 | 1.2 LD | 11.7 | 7 | | 2024 JR1 | 2024-May-07 | 0.8 LD | 13 | 10 | | 2024 JO2 | 2024-May-07 | 1.7 LD | 14.4 | 9 | | 2024 JX1 | 2024-May-08 | 5 LD | 20 | 21 | | 2024 JD | 2024-May-08 | 0.7 LD | 3.3 | 10 | | 2024 JG1 | 2024-May-08 | 10.5 LD | 12.3 | 24 | | 2024 JL3 | 2024-May-08 | 1 LD | 18.5 | 19 | | 2024 JM1 | 2024-May-09 | 10.9 LD | 10.4 | 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 JR3 | 2024-May-09 | 2.4 LD | 19.1 | 19 | | 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 | 18 | | 2024 JV6 | 2024-May-10 | 1.6 LD | 9.4 | 8 | | 2024 JN | 2024-May-12 | 4.4 LD | 3.3 | 8 | | 2024 JB2 | 2024-May-13 | 11.6 LD | 17.7 | 81 | | 2015 KJ19 | 2024-May-14 | 15.8 LD | 23.1 | 112 | | 2014 WF6 | 2024-May-14 | 7.2 LD | 18.9 | 47 | | 2024 JW6 | 2024-May-14 | 5.7 LD | 8.6 | 17 | | 2021 JN10 | 2024-May-15 | 14.7 LD | 13.4 | 33 | | 2021 JJ | 2024-May-15 | 16.8 LD | 5.7 | 28 | | 2024 JG6 | 2024-May-17 | 11.2 LD | 7.4 | 21 | | 2022 WN2 | 2024-May-17 | 13.7 LD | 5.5 | 6 | | 2024 JQ1 | 2024-May-18 | 5.7 LD | 3 | 13 | | 2024 JD1 | 2024-May-20 | 19 LD | 5.5 | 28 | | 2015 WO1 | 2024-May-20 | 7.4 LD | 15.6 | 86 | | 2019 VB5 | 2024-May-21 | 7.8 LD | 6.3 | 2 | | 2024 JZ6 | 2024-May-23 | 14.7 LD | 14 | 264 | | 2024 HP | 2024-May-23 | 15.5 LD | 7.7 | 204 | | 2024 HP2 | 2024-May-25 | 5.8 LD | 2.3 | 20 | | 2024 JY1 | 2024-May-26 | 17.3 LD | 10.2 | 60 | | 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 | 36 | | 2008 XH | 2024-May-31 | 13.8 LD | 14.7 | 102 | | 2024 JP1 | 2024-Jun-01 | 17.9 LD | 4.7 | 24 | | 2024 JC1 | 2024-Jun-01 | 15.1 LD | 4.8 | 30 | | 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 | 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. | |
