 | | | Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica Credit: NOAA/Ovation  Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 3.33 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 3.33 quiet
explanation | more data
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 7.87 nT
Bz: 2.10 nT north
more data: ACE, DSCOVR
Updated: Today at 1147 UT Coronal Holes: 31 Oct 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 Oct. 29, 2024, the Arctic stratosphere is much too warm for Type II polar stratospheric clouds. | more data. Noctilucent Clouds
The northern season for NLCs is underway--but not for long. The first clouds were detected inside the Arctic Circle on May 25, 2024, by the NOAA 21 satellite. After peaking in July, the clouds are now in rapid decline. This is typical for the month of August, which usually brings the end of NLC season in the northern hemisphere.
Updated: Aug. 28, 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 Oct 31 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 Oct 31 2200 UTC Mid-latitudes | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | ACTIVE | 15 % | 20 % | MINOR | 05 % | 05 % | SEVERE | 01 % | 01 % | High latitudes | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | ACTIVE | 15 % | 15 % | MINOR | 20 % | 25 % | SEVERE | 20 % | 25 % | | | |  | | | | | | | | | | | 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. | | | GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH (G1): A CME might graze Earth on Nov. 1st, sparking a minor G1-class geomagnetic storm. The CME was hurled into space by an erupting filament of magnetism on Oct. 29th. A NASA model shows the CME barely touching Earth, so this is a low probability forecast. CME impact alerts: SMS Text ANOTHER X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE: Active sunspot AR3878 erupted again today (Oct. 31st @ 2120 UTC), producing an X2-class solar flare. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured a spray of hot plasma emerging from the blast site: 
A pulse of extreme ultraviolet radiation from the flare ionized the top of Earth's atmosphere, causing a shortwave radio blackout over the Pacific Ocean. Ham radio operators may have noticed loss of signal below 25 MHz for as much as 45 minutes after the flare. We don't yet know if the explosion produced a CME. Initial guess: No. The flare was not accompanied by Type II radio bursts, which are usually produced by plasma instabilities in the leading edges of significant CMEs. However, we won't be sure until images from SOHO coronagraphs arrive. Stay tuned. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter THE GEOMAGNETIC MOONCAT: This cat has experienced a geomagnetic storm. Multiple CMEs hit Earth's magnetic field during the weekend of August 10-11. Students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched a cosmic ray balloon into the resulting severe geomagnetic storm. The Geomagnetic Mooncat went along for the ride: 
You can have it for $199.95. Supported by a sterling silver frame, the black cat is curled around a genuine blue moonstone. It floated through the stratosphere for almost 3 hours during the storm, gathering radiation data for the students' monitoring program. The Mooncat comes with a greeting card showing the pendant in flight and explaining the radiation experiment. The students of Earth to Sky Calculus are selling space jewelry to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. Don't wait for Christmas--get yours now! Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
Realtime Comet 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 0ct 31, 2024, the network reported 28 fireballs.
(21 sporadics, 4 northern Taurids, 2 Orionids, 1 southern Taurid)  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 October 31, 2024 there were 2349 potentially hazardous asteroids.
 | Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters: | Asteroid | Date(UT) | Miss Distance | Velocity (km/s) | Diameter (m) | | 2024 TB2 | 2024-Oct-26 | 3.1 LD | 2.9 | 35 | | 2024 UN2 | 2024-Oct-26 | 0.6 LD | 10.5 | 21 | | 2024 UH6 | 2024-Oct-26 | 4.3 LD | 14.6 | 17 | | 2024 UX9 | 2024-Oct-26 | 11.9 LD | 17.6 | 108 | | 2007 UT3 | 2024-Oct-26 | 17.7 LD | 10.4 | 23 | | 2024 UZ6 | 2024-Oct-27 | 0 LD | 8.1 | 2 | | 2024 US5 | 2024-Oct-27 | 18.6 LD | 8 | 16 | | 2016 BF1 | 2024-Oct-27 | 10.4 LD | 9.2 | 30 | | 2024 UD8 | 2024-Oct-27 | 0.7 LD | 18 | 6 | | 2024 UJ9 | 2024-Oct-27 | 2.5 LD | 8.1 | 16 | | 2024 UR9 | 2024-Oct-27 | 1.2 LD | 12.4 | 4 | | 2024 UF4 | 2024-Oct-28 | 4.9 LD | 13.5 | 11 | | 2024 SE26 | 2024-Oct-28 | 9.8 LD | 12.6 | 106 | | 2024 UV7 | 2024-Oct-28 | 0.6 LD | 11.3 | 5 | | 2024 UG6 | 2024-Oct-28 | 7.2 LD | 8.4 | 19 | | 2024 UQ1 | 2024-Oct-28 | 0.6 LD | 6.6 | 10 | | 2020 WG | 2024-Oct-28 | 8.7 LD | 9.4 | 160 | | 2024 UX | 2024-Oct-28 | 7.3 LD | 4.7 | 10 | | 2024 UT2 | 2024-Oct-28 | 6.3 LD | 8.9 | 15 | | 2024 UO4 | 2024-Oct-28 | 0.2 LD | 8.4 | 3 | | 2024 UO2 | 2024-Oct-28 | 8.9 LD | 5 | 11 | | 2024 UF6 | 2024-Oct-28 | 3.9 LD | 5 | 14 | | 2024 UW7 | 2024-Oct-28 | 0.3 LD | 15.8 | 3 | | 2024 UO5 | 2024-Oct-28 | 1.4 LD | 10.2 | 5 | | 2024 UT4 | 2024-Oct-28 | 8.5 LD | 8.3 | 11 | | 2024 UP6 | 2024-Oct-29 | 15.8 LD | 8.7 | 14 | | 2024 UL8 | 2024-Oct-29 | 13.4 LD | 14.4 | 17 | | 2024 SU13 | 2024-Oct-29 | 10.9 LD | 6 | 32 | | 2024 UF9 | 2024-Oct-29 | 1.5 LD | 18 | 21 | | 2024 UE6 | 2024-Oct-30 | 6.7 LD | 15 | 14 | | 2024 UG9 | 2024-Oct-30 | 0 LD | 20.3 | 1 | | 2024 UQ2 | 2024-Oct-30 | 4.4 LD | 14.9 | 20 | | 2024 UE3 | 2024-Oct-30 | 3.1 LD | 13.8 | 16 | | 2024 UL9 | 2024-Oct-30 | 11.4 LD | 7.3 | 17 | | 2021 CV1 | 2024-Oct-30 | 14.4 LD | 23.6 | 38 | | 2024 UK6 | 2024-Oct-30 | 19.7 LD | 10.5 | 29 | | 2024 UU1 | 2024-Oct-31 | 1.3 LD | 18 | 23 | | 2023 KX3 | 2024-Oct-31 | 18.8 LD | 2.4 | 25 | | 2022 UD21 | 2024-Oct-31 | 11.8 LD | 11.8 | 27 | | 2024 UW6 | 2024-Oct-31 | 14.3 LD | 8.1 | 15 | | 2024 UP4 | 2024-Oct-31 | 3.2 LD | 10.9 | 12 | | 2024 UU7 | 2024-Nov-01 | 4.7 LD | 10.1 | 14 | | 2024 UT5 | 2024-Nov-01 | 3.3 LD | 14.4 | 8 | | 2024 UL6 | 2024-Nov-01 | 14.1 LD | 5.3 | 23 | | 2016 VA | 2024-Nov-01 | 1.5 LD | 21.2 | 11 | | 2024 UP5 | 2024-Nov-02 | 11.5 LD | 6.6 | 29 | | 2024 UV6 | 2024-Nov-03 | 17.4 LD | 7.4 | 14 | | 2024 TX13 | 2024-Nov-03 | 1.9 LD | 7.6 | 42 | | 2020 VX1 | 2024-Nov-03 | 19.4 LD | 7.8 | 93 | | 2023 VS | 2024-Nov-04 | 15.2 LD | 4.3 | 4 | | 2024 UF2 | 2024-Nov-04 | 19.5 LD | 12.8 | 47 | | 2024 UX6 | 2024-Nov-05 | 17.2 LD | 14.7 | 38 | | 2024 UT7 | 2024-Nov-05 | 2.7 LD | 8.3 | 64 | | 2024 TD22 | 2024-Nov-05 | 8 LD | 11.9 | 52 | | 2024 UH5 | 2024-Nov-05 | 1.6 LD | 6.9 | 16 | | 2024 UD6 | 2024-Nov-06 | 8.2 LD | 5.7 | 12 | | 2024 UW | 2024-Nov-06 | 1.7 LD | 4.7 | 9 | | 2022 JM | 2024-Nov-06 | 19.7 LD | 6.2 | 6 | | 2024 UK9 | 2024-Nov-08 | 4.3 LD | 4.4 | 15 | | 2024 UU9 | 2024-Nov-09 | 14.5 LD | 8.8 | 15 | | 2024 UU4 | 2024-Nov-09 | 19.4 LD | 5.7 | 16 | | 2024 UZ | 2024-Nov-10 | 16.4 LD | 4.9 | 19 | | 2024 UC3 | 2024-Nov-10 | 11 LD | 6.7 | 27 | | 2024 UK8 | 2024-Nov-11 | 19.7 LD | 18.7 | 21 | | 2019 WB7 | 2024-Nov-11 | 17.3 LD | 5.7 | 43 | | 2024 UE4 | 2024-Nov-11 | 3.4 LD | 12.5 | 28 | | 2020 UL3 | 2024-Nov-12 | 4.1 LD | 10.5 | 80 | | 2020 AB2 | 2024-Nov-13 | 18.9 LD | 7.2 | 14 | | 2024 UA10 | 2024-Nov-14 | 19.7 LD | 16 | 33 | | 2019 VU5 | 2024-Nov-14 | 12 LD | 23.3 | 46 | | 2019 VL5 | 2024-Nov-14 | 9.6 LD | 8.5 | 24 | | 2024 UC5 | 2024-Nov-17 | 10.8 LD | 4.2 | 20 | | 2023 WK3 | 2024-Nov-18 | 16.1 LD | 14.5 | 272 | | 2012 KO11 | 2024-Nov-20 | 6.2 LD | 9.4 | 43 | | 2024 UW9 | 2024-Nov-20 | 13.8 LD | 15.1 | 43 | | 2020 VX4 | 2024-Nov-20 | 10.5 LD | 10.5 | 11 | | 2009 WB105 | 2024-Nov-25 | 15.1 LD | 18.9 | 71 | | 2006 WB | 2024-Nov-26 | 2.3 LD | 4.2 | 98 | | 2018 DC4 | 2024-Nov-29 | 18.8 LD | 4.5 | 12 | | 2019 JN2 | 2024-Nov-30 | 9.4 LD | 7.7 | 25 | | 2021 XZ | 2024-Dec-02 | 13.2 LD | 7.4 | 8 | | 447755 | 2024-Dec-03 | 14.4 LD | 12.2 | 402 | | 2020 XR | 2024-Dec-04 | 5.8 LD | 12.3 | 388 | | 2021 WA5 | 2024-Dec-05 | 9.8 LD | 5.9 | 12 | | 2024 UU3 | 2024-Dec-08 | 16.9 LD | 4.8 | 36 | | 2018 XU3 | 2024-Dec-11 | 16.8 LD | 10.8 | 28 | | 2007 XB23 | 2024-Dec-11 | 1.2 LD | 4.8 | 14 | | 2022 YO1 | 2024-Dec-17 | 2 LD | 14.3 | 4 | | 2020 XY4 | 2024-Dec-19 | 12.8 LD | 8.8 | 14 | | 2017 YD2 | 2024-Dec-27 | 18 LD | 9.9 | 6 | 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. | | 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. | |
