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CME IMPACT (THE FIRST OF TWO): A CME just hit Earth's magnetic field (July 20th at 1651 UT): data. This is the first of two CMEs forecasters have been tracking en route to Earth. The second should reach our planet tomorrow, July 21st. The combined effect of these two CMEs could cause G1 to G2-class geomagnetic storms with high-latitude auroras especially after the second CME arrives. Aurora alerts: SMS Text
SPACEX JUST PUNCHED A HOLE IN THE IONOSPHERE: On the evening of July 19th, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Sky watchers from southern California to Arizona witnessed a magnificent exhaust plume. Outside Flagstaff, photographer David Blanchard saw something extra:
Note the red glow behind the clouds. This is a sign that the rocket punched a hole in the ionosphere.
It wouldn't be the first time. SpaceX has been punching temporary holes in the ionosphere for years. For example, on August 25, 2017, the launch of Taiwan’s FORMOSAT-5 satellite created a hole four times bigger than the state of California. It happened again on June 19, 2022, when a Falcon 9 carried a Globalstar communications satellite to orbit. The ionosphere's "wound" was marked by a bright red glow.
"This is a well studied phenomenon when rockets are burning their engines 200 to 300 km above Earth's surface," says space physicist Jeff Baumgardner of Boston University.
Some rocket engines spray water (H2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) into the ionosphere, quenching local ionization by as much as 70%. The F-layer of the ionosphere is particulary effected. Oxygen ions (O+) in the F-layer are hungry for electrons, which they readily steal from the rocket's exhaust. Captured electrons cascade down the oxygen atom's energy levels, emitting red photons at a wavelength of 6300 Å--the same color as red auroras.
Above: Electron density maps show a hole in the ionosphere formed by a SpaceX rocket in 2017. [more]
"I reviewed footage from last night's launch," says Baumgardner. "It shows the second stage engine burning at 286 km near the F-region peak for that time of day. So, it is quite possible that an ionospheric 'hole' was made."
Ionospheric "punch holes" are becoming increasingly common with record numbers of rocket launches led by SpaceX. Ham radio operators may notice them when shortwave signals fail to skip over the horizon, shooting through holes instead of bouncing back to Earth. Sudden GPS errors can also result from the anomalies.
Readers, did you see the red glow from last night's SpaceX launch? Submit your photos here.
more images: from Dennis Mammana of Borrego Springs, California; from Andrew Corkill of Riverside, California; from Chris Cook of Laguna Beach, California;
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RARE REVERSED-POLARITY SUNSPOT: Sunspot AR3376 is breaking the law: Hale’s Law. Its magnetic polarity is reversed compared to other sunspots in the sun’s northern hemisphere:
According to Hale’s Law, Solar Cycle 25 sunspots in the sun’s northern hemisphere should have a -/+ polarity (negative on the left, positive on the right). AR3376 is reversed; its polarity is +/-.
Studies show that about 3% of all sunspots violate Hale’s Law. In most ways, reversed polarity sunspots are totally normal. They have about the same lifespan and size as ordinary sunspots. In one important way, however, they are different.
According to a 1982 survey by Frances Tang of the Big Bear Solar Observatory, reversed polarity sunspots are more than twice as likely to develop unstable magnetic fields in which + and – are mixed together. Reversed polarity sunspots are therefore more likely to explode.
Stay tuned for flares from AR3376. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
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APOLLO 11 PROOF SILVER DOLLAR (COLLECTOR'S ITEM): Fifty-four years ago today, Apollo 11 astronauts landed on the Moon. Like the original astronauts, this rare Apollo 11 silver dollar has been to space:
You can have it for $249.95. The US Mint created Apollo 11 silver dollars to celebrate the first Moon landing--but you can no longer buy them from the Mint. You can, however, get one from Earth to Sky Calculus. The coin was flown to the stratosphere onboard the students' cosmic ray research balloon.
The silver dollar is curved and reproduces the helmet of astronaut Buzz Aldrin. Reflected in Buzz's visor are Neil Armstrong, the United States flag, and the lunar lander. The opposite side of the coin shows Neil's iconic footprint on the Moon. Included is a greeting card showing the coin in flight and a certificate of authenticity.
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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 Jul 20, 2023, the network reported 6 fireballs.
(6 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 July 20, 2023 there were 2335 potentially hazardous asteroids.
|
Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters: Asteroid | Date(UT) | Miss Distance | Velocity (km/s) | Diameter (m) |
2023 NY | 2023-Jul-15 | 11.6 LD | 2.1 | 13 |
2023 NU1 | 2023-Jul-15 | 13.3 LD | 16.2 | 116 |
2023 NW | 2023-Jul-16 | 15.7 LD | 17.1 | 33 |
2023 MG6 | 2023-Jul-16 | 9.5 LD | 12.4 | 290 |
2020 UQ3 | 2023-Jul-18 | 3.2 LD | 9.3 | 59 |
2023 OA | 2023-Jul-19 | 6.2 LD | 7.5 | 19 |
2023 NE1 | 2023-Jul-19 | 12.7 LD | 5.7 | 61 |
2022 GX2 | 2023-Jul-20 | 11.9 LD | 9.4 | 5 |
2023 NL | 2023-Jul-20 | 19.1 LD | 5.5 | 43 |
2020 OM | 2023-Jul-20 | 8.5 LD | 9.5 | 14 |
2023 OS | 2023-Jul-21 | 5.1 LD | 10.8 | 49 |
2023 NM1 | 2023-Jul-21 | 13.3 LD | 8.9 | 35 |
2023 MX5 | 2023-Jul-21 | 11.9 LD | 11.8 | 62 |
2023 NR1 | 2023-Jul-22 | 2.9 LD | 15.2 | 76 |
2023 MM3 | 2023-Jul-22 | 19.1 LD | 6.4 | 46 |
2015 MA54 | 2023-Jul-24 | 16.6 LD | 9.2 | 31 |
2018 BG5 | 2023-Jul-27 | 10.8 LD | 8.4 | 56 |
2020 PP1 | 2023-Jul-29 | 17 LD | 4.1 | 17 |
2021 BD3 | 2023-Jul-30 | 14 LD | 8.5 | 25 |
2016 AW65 | 2023-Jul-31 | 16.7 LD | 5.7 | 54 |
2020 PN1 | 2023-Aug-03 | 10.8 LD | 4.8 | 29 |
620082 | 2023-Aug-04 | 14 LD | 20.6 | 375 |
2023 OQ | 2023-Aug-06 | 9.9 LD | 21.3 | 150 |
2004 KG1 | 2023-Aug-06 | 18.7 LD | 9.2 | 54 |
2022 BS2 | 2023-Aug-11 | 17.3 LD | 8.2 | 30 |
2022 CP1 | 2023-Aug-17 | 13.8 LD | 9.8 | 12 |
2011 QJ21 | 2023-Aug-19 | 13 LD | 15.1 | 45 |
6037 | 2023-Aug-23 | 15.9 LD | 14.3 | 563 |
2012 PZ17 | 2023-Aug-30 | 16.8 LD | 3.6 | 16 |
2017 BY32 | 2023-Sep-02 | 16.4 LD | 3.5 | 20 |
2021 JA5 | 2023-Sep-06 | 13.3 LD | 10.9 | 19 |
2020 GE | 2023-Sep-08 | 14.9 LD | 1.4 | 8 |
2020 RT2 | 2023-Sep-12 | 11 LD | 10 | 8 |
2016 LY48 | 2023-Sep-16 | 5 LD | 10.8 | 100 |
2010 TE | 2023-Sep-16 | 6.8 LD | 6 | 22 |
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 |
| 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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