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NEW FAST-GROWING SUNSPOT: Sunspot AR3354 didn't exist yesterday. Today it is 5 times wider than Earth. A 24 hour movie from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory shows the sunspot's rapid development. It merits watching as a possible source of Earth-directed solar flares. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
SOLAR MAX IS BOOSTING AIRGLOW: There was no geomagnetic storm on June 22nd. Nevertheless, the sky turned green over rural Colorado. Aaron Watson photographed the dramatic display from the West Elk Mountains:
"I woke up around midnight to crystal clear skies," says Watson. "I noticed some wispy rays and, at first, I thought maybe it was noctilucent clouds. Upon closer inspection there was an intense green glow rippling across the entire sky."
Although this looks a lot like aurora borealis, it is something completely different: airglow. Cameras with nighttime exposure settings can pick up the faint emission from anywhere on Earth even when geomagnetic activity is low. All that's required is a very dark sky.
"Airglow is produced by photochemistry in Earth's upper atmosphere," says space scientist Scott Bailey of Virginia Tech. "And it is very interesting photochemistry."
He explains: There is a layer of air about 95 km above Earth's surface where two forms of oxygen mix together: Molecular oxygen (O2, the kind of oxygen we breathe) and atomic oxygen (O, a reactive species that is toxic to people). Both species are abundant in a wafer-thin zone only 10 km deep. O2 collides with O, exciting the atoms, which later relax by emitting green photons.
"I photographed it, too!" reports Christie Allen, who lives in southern Colorado. "Green rays were emerging from the Sangre de Cristo mountain range to our east."
"At first I thought they were auroras," she says, "but now I know it was airglow."
Although airglow does not require solar activity, there is a strong link to the solar cycle. As long ago as 1935, Lord Rayleigh realized that airglow peaks during years around Solar Maximum. Modern studies (e.g., 2011, 2015 and 2022) have confirmed the effect. Airglow is up to 40% brighter when the sun is most active.
"Solar activity boosts airglow by heating the upper atmosphere," says Bailey. "Warmer air causes more collisions and, thus, more green light to emerge. This is why green airglow tends to be most intense around Solar Max."
That means *now* is the time to look for airglow. Solar Cycle 25 is intensifying with Maximum perhaps less than a year away. Get away from city lights, wait for the Moon to set, and point your camera at the midnight sky. It might not be as dark as you think.
Realtime Airglow Photo Gallery
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STAR TREK ENTERPRISE WINE STOPPER: It's the best way to explore Strange New Wines: The rare Star Trek Enterprise Wine Stopper. This one just flew to the edge of space onboard a cosmic ray research balloon:
You can have it for $119.95. On June 4, 2023, this handcrafted resin bottle stopper floated 103,808 feet above the Sierra Nevada mountains of central California. It comes with a greeting card showing the stopper in flight and telling the story of its journey to the stratosphere and back again.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
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Realtime Space Weather 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 Jun 27, 2023, the network reported 27 fireballs.
(27 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 June 27, 2023 there were 2335 potentially hazardous asteroids.
 |
Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters: | Asteroid | Date(UT) | Miss Distance | Velocity (km/s) | Diameter (m) |
| 2023 MQ3 | 2023-Jun-22 | 18.8 LD | 12.8 | 33 |
| 2023 MW2 | 2023-Jun-23 | 0.3 LD | 9.8 | 4 |
| 2023 MQ | 2023-Jun-23 | 3.1 LD | 8.8 | 11 |
| 2023 MU | 2023-Jun-23 | 18.5 LD | 14 | 56 |
| 2023 ML3 | 2023-Jun-24 | 0.7 LD | 14.7 | 8 |
| 467336 | 2023-Jun-24 | 17.4 LD | 7.1 | 269 |
| 2008 LG2 | 2023-Jun-24 | 10.5 LD | 5.6 | 32 |
| 2023 MD | 2023-Jun-25 | 7 LD | 4.1 | 28 |
| 2023 MF1 | 2023-Jun-25 | 5 LD | 17.8 | 38 |
| 2023 MU2 | 2023-Jun-25 | 0.6 LD | 4.5 | 5 |
| 2023 ME1 | 2023-Jun-26 | 12.8 LD | 12.1 | 28 |
| 2023 MH4 | 2023-Jun-27 | 2.7 LD | 12.7 | 14 |
| 2023 MS2 | 2023-Jun-27 | 9.9 LD | 11.1 | 35 |
| 2023 MO2 | 2023-Jun-27 | 14.6 LD | 12.9 | 42 |
| 2023 MG4 | 2023-Jun-28 | 12.5 LD | 12.4 | 34 |
| 2013 WV44 | 2023-Jun-28 | 9.1 LD | 11.8 | 95 |
| 2023 MN1 | 2023-Jun-29 | 9.5 LD | 15 | 36 |
| 2023 MR1 | 2023-Jun-29 | 6 LD | 12.1 | 61 |
| 2023 MX2 | 2023-Jun-29 | 1.2 LD | 4.3 | 8 |
| 2022 MM1 | 2023-Jun-29 | 9.8 LD | 9.7 | 41 |
| 2023 LG2 | 2023-Jul-01 | 5.7 LD | 2.8 | 26 |
| 2020 NC | 2023-Jul-02 | 13.9 LD | 7.7 | 123 |
| 2023 MT1 | 2023-Jul-03 | 2.9 LD | 5.2 | 14 |
| 2023 HO6 | 2023-Jul-05 | 5.3 LD | 7.8 | 225 |
| 2023 ME4 | 2023-Jul-06 | 3 LD | 10.7 | 33 |
| 2023 LH2 | 2023-Jul-06 | 18.8 LD | 7.9 | 36 |
| 2019 LH5 | 2023-Jul-07 | 14.9 LD | 21.6 | 281 |
| 2018 NW | 2023-Jul-10 | 18 LD | 21.8 | 10 |
| 2023 LN1 | 2023-Jul-10 | 17.9 LD | 5.8 | 63 |
| 2023 MD2 | 2023-Jul-11 | 5.6 LD | 8.4 | 48 |
| 2023 MQ1 | 2023-Jul-11 | 10.7 LD | 6 | 50 |
| 2018 UY | 2023-Jul-12 | 7.4 LD | 16.4 | 243 |
| 2020 UQ3 | 2023-Jul-18 | 3.2 LD | 9.3 | 59 |
| 2022 GX2 | 2023-Jul-20 | 11.9 LD | 9.4 | 5 |
| 2020 OM | 2023-Jul-20 | 8.5 LD | 9.5 | 14 |
| 2023 MM3 | 2023-Jul-22 | 19.1 LD | 6.4 | 40 |
| 2015 MA54 | 2023-Jul-24 | 16.6 LD | 9.2 | 31 |
| 2018 BG5 | 2023-Jul-27 | 10.7 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 | 16.6 LD | 5.7 | 54 |
| 2020 PN1 | 2023-Aug-03 | 10.8 LD | 4.8 | 29 |
| 620082 | 2023-Aug-04 | 14 LD | 20.6 | 375 |
| 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 |
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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