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CME STRIKE SPARKS SEVERE GEOMAGNETIC STORM: As predicted, a CME struck Earth on June 28th (~1000 UT). The impact sparked a severe G4-class geomagnetic storm, surprising forecasters who expected only a minor G1-class event. Daylight over Europe and the Americas hid a potentially dynamite display of auroras. The storm is subsiding now and should soon be over. Aurora alerts: SMS Text
NLCs ARE NOT BEHAVING AS EXPECTED: When northern summer began, the forecast called for few noctilucent clouds (NLCs). Frosted wisps of meteor smoke tend to melt away during years of high solar activity--and solar activity has been very high in 2024. Yet...
"This week's NLC display not only blew me away, but I would consider it within the top two displays I've ever seen in my life," reports longtime observer Martin McKenna, who took this picture on June 26th from N. Ireland:
"This was right up there with the jaw dropping displays I observed during 2009 when we had a deep Solar Minimum," McKenna says.
Other witnesses agreed: "It was easily the best display in years, and I've been observing NLCs for 60+ years," says John C McConnell of Maghaberry, N. Ireland. Kenneth Conlon of County Sligo, Ireland, described it as a "major outbreak, one of the strongest since 2019." These glowing reports came only two days after another outbreak of NLCs appeared over Paris, France.
What's going on?
It might be Tonga. The undersea volcano erupted in January 2022, hurling record amounts of water into the atmosphere. Yes, that was two years ago, but it takes about two years for the vapor to circulate up to the mesosphere where NLCs form. Water is a key ingredient for NLCs, so Tonga's moisture could be turbocharging the clouds
Noctilucent clouds over County Sligo, Ireland, on June 26th. Credit: Kenneth Conlon
Another possibility is SpaceX. Studies show that water-rich rocket exhaust boosts the abundance of NLCs. So far this year (Jan. 1st - June 27th), 124 rockets have been launched, mostly by SpaceX. That's 4 times the rate of launches during previous Solar Maxima. Quadrupling amount of rocket exhaust in the mesosphere might be enough to overwhelm the water and ice destroying effects of the active sun.
In the past 2 weeks alone there have been 7 launches worldwide. A notable launch of the Falcon Heavy rocket on June 25th immediately preceded the Irish outburst of NLCs on June 26th. Even leading experts aren't certain these events are linked mainly due to a lack of satellite data tracking the detailed circulation of water vapor in the upper reaches of the atmosphere.
One thing's for sure: More rockets are on the launch pad, so we should remain alert for electric blue. Submit your photos here!
Realtime Noctilucent Cloud Photo Gallery
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THIS PENDANT HAS TOUCHED THE SHADOW OF THE MOON: On April 8, 2024, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched a cosmic ray research balloon directly into a total eclipse of the sun. This handmade pendant went along for the ride. Floating more than 118,110 feet above the path of totality in Texas, the necklace spent 3 minutes and 45 seconds wrapped in the shadow of the Moon:
You can have it for $149.95. Created by an artist in Texas where the balloon was launched, the pendant displays a solar eclipse art print sealed under a smooth glass cover. It comes with a greeting card showing the pendant in flight and telling the story of its journey to the edge of space during the total eclipse.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
Realtime Comet Photo Gallery
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Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
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Realtime Space Weather 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, 2024, 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 June 28, 2024 there were 2349 potentially hazardous asteroids.
 |
Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters: | Asteroid | Date(UT) | Miss Distance | Velocity (km/s) | Diameter (m) |
| 2024 KN1 | 2024-Jun-23 | 14.7 LD | 4.6 | 28 |
| 2024 MU | 2024-Jun-24 | 18.7 LD | 6 | 22 |
| 2024 MV | 2024-Jun-25 | 1.2 LD | 7.4 | 15 |
| 2024 KJ | 2024-Jun-25 | 13.7 LD | 4.5 | 25 |
| 2024 LO5 | 2024-Jun-25 | 5.1 LD | 7.9 | 20 |
| 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 |
| 2024 MW | 2024-Jun-28 | 0.2 LD | 13.6 | 5 |
| 2022 HD1 | 2024-Jun-29 | 16.5 LD | 7.2 | 63 |
| 2024 MK | 2024-Jun-29 | 0.8 LD | 9.4 | 152 |
| 2017 MB3 | 2024-Jun-30 | 5 LD | 6.5 | 30 |
| 2024 JJ25 | 2024-Jun-30 | 10.5 LD | 9.4 | 117 |
| 2024 LJ2 | 2024-Jul-01 | 19.8 LD | 10.4 | 83 |
| 2022 BY39 | 2024-Jul-02 | 13.2 LD | 3 | 4 |
| 2024 LH | 2024-Jul-02 | 4.4 LD | 4.3 | 32 |
| 2024 KQ1 | 2024-Jul-04 | 14.9 LD | 6.9 | 57 |
| 2022 YS5 | 2024-Jul-11 | 11 LD | 5.8 | 38 |
| 2024 BY15 | 2024-Jul-16 | 16.2 LD | 0.7 | 16 |
| 2024 LY2 | 2024-Jul-23 | 12 LD | 7.8 | 87 |
| 2011 MW1 | 2024-Jul-25 | 10.1 LD | 8 | 120 |
| 2011 AM24 | 2024-Jul-26 | 16.8 LD | 6.2 | 281 |
| 523664 | 2024-Jul-28 | 14.9 LD | 23.7 | 680 |
| 2020 PN1 | 2024-Aug-02 | 18 LD | 5.5 | 29 |
| 2023 HB7 | 2024-Aug-05 | 14.6 LD | 6.1 | 32 |
| 2017 TU1 | 2024-Aug-05 | 10.1 LD | 10.1 | 22 |
| 2024 KH3 | 2024-Aug-10 | 14.6 LD | 11.4 | 197 |
| 2021 GY1 | 2024-Aug-16 | 17.7 LD | 6.3 | 59 |
| 2024 JV33 | 2024-Aug-19 | 12 LD | 11.1 | 213 |
| 2022 BF2 | 2024-Aug-19 | 19.7 LD | 16.4 | 91 |
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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