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GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH: NOAA forecasters say that G1-class geomagnetic storms are possible on July 7th when a partial halo CME is expected to hit Earth's magnetic field. It was hurled in our direction yesterday by an explosion in the magnetic canopy of sunspot AR3359. Aurora alerts: SMS Text
RADIO AMATEURS 'HACK' A NASA SPACECRAFT: Ham radio operators are picking up a strong signal from space. It's NASA's STEREO-A spacecraft returning home after 17 years.
"I'm having fun with STEREO-A," reports Scott Tilley (VE7TIL) of Roberts Creek, British Columbia. "The spacecraft is coming close to Earth this summer, and I can now receive its signal using a small 26-inch dish in my backyard." Here is what he picked up on July 2nd:
See also an animated version of these data. The X-flare is right here.
"We caught an X-flare in progress," Tilley says. "Naked-eye sunspot AR3354 was really crackling."
STEREO-A left Earth on Oct. 26, 2006, launched from Cape Canaveral with its sister ship STEREO-B. Both spacecraft were on a mission to the farside of the sun. Over the years, they would circle behind behind the sun, beaming images back to Earth so scientists could make 3D models of solar activity. In 2014, STEREO-B failed and was not heard from again. STEREO-A kept going, and now it is on its way back.
Earlier this summer, Tilley began hearing rumors that other radio operators were picking up signals from STEREO-A at 8443.580 MHz. He decided to check it out. "The central carrier is very loud, almost 30dB above the noise," he says. "I also noticed data sidebands, which are unusual to see on such a distant object for my small antenna."
Right: STEREO-A coronagraph images of Mercury passing the sun, eavesdropped by Scott Tilley.
At first, the signal was indecipherable. But Tilley found lots of information about its format posted by NASA on public websites; it wasn't a secret. Using a program called "SatDump" written by Alan Antoine (F4LAU), he successfully demodulated the data. Now Tilley is monitoring data streams from almost all of STEREO-A's science instruments including its extreme ultraviolet imager (EUVI), two coronagraphs (COR1 and COR2), the heliospheric imager (HI) and a solar radio burst receiver (S/WAVES).
At closest approach on August 17th, STEREO-A will be only 0.05 AU (7.5 million km) from Earth. By then, signals from the spacecraft will have more than doubled in strength, making it even easier to "hack."
"What started out as a passing curiosity is now turning into a summer pastime," says Tilley. "This is a unique time to play with STEREO-A."
Hams, would you like to monitor STEREO-A? A technical blog post just published by Tilley explains exactly how to do it.
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LASER-ETCHED MOON CUBE: Last week, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched a cosmic ray balloon to the stratosphere. This unique laser-etched Moon cube went along for the ride, ascending to an altitude of 101,140 feet:
You can have it for $119.95. The students are selling these cubes as a fund-raiser for their cosmic ray ballooning program. It's an authentic representation of the Moon, with all of the craters, mountains and lava plains accurately portrayed.
The Moon-cube comes with a unique gift card showing the item floating at the top of Earth's atmosphere. The interior of the card tells the story of the flight and confirms that this gift has been to the edge of space and back again.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
FARSIDE SUNSPOT: There is a sunspot on the farside of the sun so big it is affecting the way the whole sun vibrates. Helioseismic images pinpoint it just behind the sun's eastern limb:
Before the end of this week, the region will rotate onto the Earthside of the sun, replacing giant sunspot AR3354, which is departing. If the sunspot number drops, it won't remain low for long. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
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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 04, 2023, the network reported 4 fireballs.
(3 sporadics, 1 alpha Lacertid)
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 5, 2023 there were 2335 potentially hazardous asteroids.
 |
Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters: | Asteroid | Date(UT) | Miss Distance | Velocity (km/s) | Diameter (m) |
| 2023 MZ5 | 2023-Jun-30 | 2.6 LD | 10.8 | 22 |
| 2023 LG2 | 2023-Jul-01 | 5.7 LD | 2.8 | 25 |
| 2023 MB6 | 2023-Jul-01 | 6.1 LD | 10.9 | 42 |
| 2023 MF6 | 2023-Jul-02 | 8.7 LD | 9.5 | 95 |
| 2020 NC | 2023-Jul-02 | 13.9 LD | 7.7 | 123 |
| 2023 MT1 | 2023-Jul-03 | 2.9 LD | 5.2 | 15 |
| 2023 HO6 | 2023-Jul-05 | 5.3 LD | 7.8 | 183 |
| 2023 ME4 | 2023-Jul-06 | 3 LD | 10.7 | 32 |
| 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 | 60 |
| 2023 MD2 | 2023-Jul-11 | 5.6 LD | 8.4 | 48 |
| 2023 MQ1 | 2023-Jul-11 | 10.7 LD | 6 | 49 |
| 2018 UY | 2023-Jul-12 | 7.4 LD | 16.4 | 243 |
| 2023 MG6 | 2023-Jul-16 | 9.5 LD | 12.4 | 280 |
| 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 MX5 | 2023-Jul-21 | 11.9 LD | 11.8 | 57 |
| 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 |
| 2012 PZ17 | 2023-Aug-30 | 16.8 LD | 3.6 | 16 |
| 2017 BY32 | 2023-Sep-02 | 16.4 LD | 3.5 | 20 |
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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