| | Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica Credit: NOAA/Ovation Planetary K-index Now: Kp= 1 quiet 24-hr max: Kp= 2 quiet explanation | more data Interplanetary Mag. Field Btotal: 3.6 nT Bz: -2.5 nT south more data: ACE, DSCOVR Updated: Today at 2345 UT Coronal Holes: 08 Oct 21 There are no significant equatorial coronal holes on the Earthside of the sun. Credit: SDO/AIA Noctilucent Clouds The northern hemisphere season for noctilucent clouds appears to be over. NASA's AIM spacecraft detected no evidence of NLCs around the north pole on Aug. 29th. Switch view: Europe, USA, Asia, Polar Updated at: SPACE WEATHER NOAA Forecasts | | Updated at: 2021 Oct 08 2200 UTC FLARE | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | CLASS M | 05 % | 05 % | CLASS X | 01 % | 01 % | Geomagnetic Storms: Probabilities for significant disturbances in Earth's magnetic field are given for three activity levels: active, minor storm, severe storm Updated at: 2021 Oct 08 2200 UTC Mid-latitudes | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | ACTIVE | 20 % | 15 % | MINOR | 05 % | 05 % | SEVERE | 01 % | 01 % | High latitudes | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | ACTIVE | 20 % | 20 % | MINOR | 30 % | 25 % | SEVERE | 25 % | 20 % | | | | | | | | | | | | Never miss another geomagnetic storm. Sign up for Space Weather Alerts and you'll receive a text message when auroras appear. Aurora tour guides and professional astronomers use this service. Now you can, too! | | | METEOR OUTBURST, CONFIRMED: The predictions were correct. Meteors rained over Antarctica yesterday when Earth crossed through a stream of debris from Comet 15P/Finlay, source of the newly-discovered Arid meteor shower. According to Peter Jenniskens of the SETI Institute, cameras in Chile, Australia and Namibia successfully triangulated the position of the shower's radiant (R.A. = 256.8 +/- 0.8, Decl. = -48.3 +/- 0.6 deg.) while meteor radars measured peak rates of 80 per hour. That's not the storm some forecasters expected, but still a significant shower. See you again next year, Arids! RESTLESS SUNSPOT: Big, simple and quiet. That's how sunspot AR2882 started the week. But now it is getting restless, crackling with C-class solar flares. Here is the latest, recorded Oct. 8th (1108 UT) by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory: New magnetic flux is emerging near the primary core of AR2882. The juxtaposition of oppositely-signed magnetic fields pressing together in AR2882 increases the odds of a significant flare from this formerly quiet sunspot. An M-flare this weekend would not be a surprise. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text. Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter AURORAS OVER ILULISSAT ICEFJORD: It's one of the darkest, coldest, most interesting places in the world. Ilulissat Icefjord is located on the west coast of Greenland where hyperactive glacier Sermeq Kujalleq meets the sea. Ruslan Merzlakov decided to go there and open up his camera to the night sky. This is what he saw on Oct. 3rd: "It was so crazy and magnificent to experience some of the most perfect dark skies, where only starlight and auroras create shadows," says Merzlakov. "The icebergs in this photo are up to 500 meters in length, making the scenery a thousand times more jawdropping." During his photoshoot, the air trembled with the eerie sounds of Sermeq Kujalleq calving ice into the fjord. Annually, the glacier sheds more than 46 cubic kilometres of ice. That is 10% of all Greenland's calf ice. Some of the ice flowing toward the fjord is more than 250,000 years old, providing researchers with vital samples of Earth's ancient climate before it drops into the sea. There was no geomagnetic storm on Oct. 3rd. Ilulissat Icefjord doesn't need one. It's out of this world all on its own. Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter STERLING SILVER INFINITY PEARL: Nothing says "I love you forever" like the Infinity Pearl. On Jan. 10, 2021, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched this unique pendant to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon. For more than 2 hours it floated 101,378+ feet above the Sierra Nevada mountains of central California: You can have it for $249.95. The students are selling space pearls to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. Measuring 9 mm in diameter, the Infinity Pearl is mounted on a sterling silver infinity twist and suspended from a matching 17 inch long sterling silver chain. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the pendant in flight and telling the story of its journey to the edge of space. Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store All sales support hands-on STEM education 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 Oct 08, 2021, the network reported 8 fireballs. (8 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 October 8, 2021 there were 2222 potentially hazardous asteroids. | Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters: Asteroid | Date(UT) | Miss Distance | Velocity (km/s) | Diameter (m) | 2021 TV1 | 2021-Oct-03 | 0.4 LD | 10.3 | 9 | 2021 SZ1 | 2021-Oct-03 | 2.3 LD | 13.7 | 18 | 2021 TG1 | 2021-Oct-03 | 0.8 LD | 11 | 8 | 2021 TB1 | 2021-Oct-04 | 17 LD | 5.1 | 26 | 2021 SV1 | 2021-Oct-04 | 6.8 LD | 8.9 | 18 | 2021 TK | 2021-Oct-04 | 6.9 LD | 8.1 | 22 | 2021 TC4 | 2021-Oct-05 | 14.9 LD | 5.4 | 18 | 2021 TR3 | 2021-Oct-05 | 3.4 LD | 10.3 | 29 | 2021 TY1 | 2021-Oct-05 | 18.4 LD | 10 | 31 | 2021 TM | 2021-Oct-05 | 1.8 LD | 14.2 | 12 | 2021 SE1 | 2021-Oct-05 | 8.6 LD | 4.3 | 18 | 2021 TQ3 | 2021-Oct-05 | 2 LD | 7.9 | 14 | 2021 SX4 | 2021-Oct-05 | 15.8 LD | 6.8 | 26 | 2021 TS4 | 2021-Oct-06 | 4.1 LD | 8.5 | 9 | 2021 ST | 2021-Oct-06 | 6 LD | 9.1 | 23 | 2021 TU4 | 2021-Oct-06 | 12.2 LD | 13.7 | 20 | 2021 RP12 | 2021-Oct-06 | 5 LD | 9.7 | 43 | 2021 TR4 | 2021-Oct-06 | 2 LD | 11.5 | 10 | 2021 TQ4 | 2021-Oct-06 | 1 LD | 6.2 | 4 | 2021 TR1 | 2021-Oct-06 | 18.8 LD | 12.8 | 34 | 1998 SD9 | 2021-Oct-06 | 10.6 LD | 10.8 | 54 | 2021 TP4 | 2021-Oct-07 | 12.4 LD | 21.5 | 42 | 2021 TX1 | 2021-Oct-07 | 1.3 LD | 17.8 | 12 | 2015 TQ21 | 2021-Oct-07 | 10.7 LD | 20.7 | 12 | 2021 SD2 | 2021-Oct-07 | 5.7 LD | 6.6 | 15 | 2021 TZ1 | 2021-Oct-09 | 3.8 LD | 4.2 | 8 | 2021 TT1 | 2021-Oct-10 | 1 LD | 17.1 | 20 | 2021 RF5 | 2021-Oct-10 | 19.9 LD | 8.8 | 48 | 2021 TO3 | 2021-Oct-10 | 13 LD | 9.7 | 19 | 2021 TQ1 | 2021-Oct-10 | 3.1 LD | 5.4 | 8 | 2021 QF5 | 2021-Oct-11 | 15.4 LD | 7.1 | 62 | 2019 SE5 | 2021-Oct-11 | 16.3 LD | 6.6 | 16 | 2021 TY2 | 2021-Oct-11 | 10.2 LD | 5.2 | 15 | 2021 SF1 | 2021-Oct-12 | 6.2 LD | 3.4 | 13 | 2021 TN1 | 2021-Oct-12 | 7.5 LD | 3.6 | 19 | 2021 TS3 | 2021-Oct-14 | 10.9 LD | 4.2 | 13 | 2021 TC1 | 2021-Oct-14 | 14.6 LD | 6.6 | 31 | 2021 SM1 | 2021-Oct-14 | 6.9 LD | 7.2 | 27 | 2021 TT4 | 2021-Oct-14 | 5.1 LD | 3.1 | 9 | 2021 SM3 | 2021-Oct-15 | 13 LD | 15.9 | 96 | 2020 TH6 | 2021-Oct-19 | 7.3 LD | 5.9 | 6 | 2021 TX2 | 2021-Oct-19 | 9 LD | 10.7 | 33 | 1996 VB3 | 2021-Oct-20 | 8.8 LD | 15.3 | 135 | 2021 TV3 | 2021-Oct-21 | 13.3 LD | 12.8 | 47 | 2021 TE4 | 2021-Oct-21 | 8.3 LD | 6 | 15 | 2021 SG2 | 2021-Oct-21 | 15.9 LD | 5.9 | 25 | 2021 RE10 | 2021-Oct-21 | 15.5 LD | 5.1 | 56 | 2021 TE1 | 2021-Oct-23 | 9.5 LD | 12.5 | 47 | 2017 SJ20 | 2021-Oct-25 | 18.7 LD | 15.7 | 120 | 2019 UW6 | 2021-Oct-26 | 8 LD | 11.1 | 17 | 2009 WY7 | 2021-Nov-02 | 19.2 LD | 14.7 | 54 | 2017 TS3 | 2021-Nov-02 | 13.9 LD | 9.9 | 131 | 2005 VL1 | 2021-Nov-04 | 17 LD | 5.2 | 18 | 2020 KA | 2021-Nov-06 | 14.9 LD | 4.8 | 11 | 2021 SP3 | 2021-Nov-08 | 15.6 LD | 9.3 | 70 | 2019 XS | 2021-Nov-09 | 1.5 LD | 10.7 | 65 | 2017 WG14 | 2021-Nov-10 | 18.6 LD | 11.6 | 45 | 2007 VD138 | 2021-Nov-12 | 16 LD | 7.7 | 44 | 2004 UE | 2021-Nov-13 | 11.1 LD | 13.2 | 224 | 2016 VR | 2021-Nov-15 | 8 LD | 8.7 | 20 | 2010 VK139 | 2021-Nov-15 | 6.4 LD | 13.9 | 65 | 2019 VL5 | 2021-Nov-15 | 8.6 LD | 8 | 23 | 2016 JG12 | 2021-Nov-20 | 14.4 LD | 7.5 | 112 | 2021 KH2 | 2021-Nov-21 | 19.3 LD | 6.5 | 31 | 3361 | 2021-Nov-21 | 15.1 LD | 8.1 | 511 | 2014 WF201 | 2021-Nov-24 | 13.2 LD | 5.5 | 27 | 2009 WB105 | 2021-Nov-25 | 15.1 LD | 18.9 | 71 | 2019 BB5 | 2021-Nov-25 | 18.8 LD | 8.3 | 16 | 1994 WR12 | 2021-Nov-29 | 16.1 LD | 8.8 | 123 | Notes: LD means "Lunar Distance." 1 LD = 384,401 km, the distance between Earth and the Moon. 1 LD also equals 0.00256 AU. MAG is the visual magnitude of the asteroid on the date of closest approach. | 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 6 years, resulting in a unique dataset of in situ atmospheric measurements. Latest results: Our most recent flight on June 25, 2021, confirms a trend of decreasing cosmic radiation: Cosmic ray dose rates peaked in late 2019, and have been slowly declining ever since. This makes perfect sense. Solar Minimum was in late 2019. During Solar Minimum the sun's magnetic field weakens, allowing more cosmic rays into the solar system. We expect dose rate to be highest at that time. Now that Solar Minimum has passed, the sun is waking up again. Solar magnetic fields are strengthening, providing a stiffer barrier to cosmic rays trying to enter the solar system. The decline of cosmic radiation above California is a sign that new Solar Cycle 25 is gaining strength. .Who cares? Cosmic rays are a surprisingly "down to Earth" form of space weather. They can seed clouds, 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. Somewhat more controversial studies (#1, #2, #3, #4) llink cosmic rays with cardiac arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. En route to the stratosphere, our sensors also pass through aviation altitudes: In this plot, dose rates are expessed as multiples of sea level. For instance, we see that boarding a plane that flies at 25,000 feet exposes passengers to dose rates ~10x higher than sea level. At 40,000 feet, the multiplier is closer to 50x. The higher you fly, the more radiation you will absorb. 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 first graph ("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 | | from the NOAA Space Environment Center | | fun to read, but should be taken with a grain of salt! 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