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CME TO STRIKE VENUS AND MARS: A CME launched into space by today's X-flare (described below) may not strike Earth, however, it will hit Venus and Mars, according to a NASA model. The strike on Venus (June 22nd) will probably erode a small amount of the planet's upper atmosphere, while the strike on Mars (June 25th) could spark auroras visible to MAVEN and other satellites.
X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE: New sunspot AR3341 erupted on June 20th, producing an X1.1-class solar flare (1709 UT). NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured the extreme ultraviolet flash:
Radiation from the flare ionized the top of Earth's atmosphere. This caused a deep shortwave radio blackout over North America: map. Aviators and ham radio operators may have noticed loss of signal at frequencies below 30 MHz for as much as 20 minutes after the flare.
SOHO coronagraphs have since detected a CME emerging from the blast site. It appears to be bright and fast. Type II solar radio emissions detected by the US Air Force suggest an expansion velocity faster than 1000 km/s (2.2 million mph). Earth is probably not in the strike zone of this fast CME. Confirmation awaits modeling by NOAA analysts. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
SUMMER ICE HALO: Rayann Elzein works in Utsjoki, Finland, as an aurora tour guide. This week he photographed something more rare than auroras. "We had an exceptional display of ice halos despite the fact that we're in the middle of summer!" he says.
All of the luminous forms in this picture are caused by sunlight shining through ice crystals in the clouds. "The parhelic circle was visible all around the sky--a full 360°," he says. "There was also a faint 46° halo and a super rare Wegener arc!"
"Normally I don't look for halos in summer," says Elzein, "but while having my morning coffee on June 18th, I saw a rainbow-looking shape way too close to the sun to be an actual rainbow. It was a beautiful and bright infralateral arc! I rushed outside to photograph the entire display."
"There are no auroras up here at 70°N during these summer months, but nature never ceases to amaze us," he says.
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COMET ATLAS IS UP ALL NIGHT: If you can find the North Star, you can find Comet ATLAS (C/2023 E1). This week, the comet is approaching Polaris, which means it is up all night for northern astronomers. Michael Jaeger photographed it gliding among the stars of Ursa Minor on June 18th:
This comet was discovered on March 1st by an Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) telescope in South Africa. At first it appeared to be an asteroid, but when a tail appeared astronomers quickly realized they had found a comet. Falling toward the sun, Comet ATLAS has since brightened 1000-fold in response to increasing solar heat.
A peak brightness of magnitude +9 is expected around July 1st when Comet ATLAS reaches perihelion (closest approach to the sun). The comet will still be close to the North Star then, up all night and begging for a nice long expsosure. Take a look!
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THE SHOOTING STAR PENDANT: The Earth to Sky Store sells a lot of space pendants. This one is special. The Shooting Star Pendant contains a hidden chamber, which you may fill with the ashes of a loved one or anything else you wish to keep close to your heart.
You can have it for $119.95. The students of Earth to Sky Calculus are selling space pendants to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each one comes with greeting card showing the item in flight and telling the story of its journey to the edge of space and back again.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
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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 20, 2023, the network reported 3 fireballs.
(3 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 20, 2023 there were 2335 potentially hazardous asteroids.
 |
Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters: | Asteroid | Date(UT) | Miss Distance | Velocity (km/s) | Diameter (m) |
| 2020 DB5 | 2023-Jun-15 | 11.3 LD | 9.5 | 506 |
| 2023 LL1 | 2023-Jun-15 | 1.5 LD | 10.7 | 8 |
| 2023 LM1 | 2023-Jun-15 | 0.3 LD | 9.2 | 7 |
| 2023 MB | 2023-Jun-16 | 13.5 LD | 5.5 | 20 |
| 2023 MP | 2023-Jun-16 | 4.5 LD | 12.6 | 35 |
| 2023 LQ1 | 2023-Jun-16 | 2.7 LD | 8.4 | 14 |
| 2023 MZ | 2023-Jun-16 | 11.8 LD | 20.3 | 67 |
| 2023 HL | 2023-Jun-17 | 13.5 LD | 1 | 15 |
| 2023 LV1 | 2023-Jun-17 | 14.7 LD | 16.5 | 189 |
| 2023 LE2 | 2023-Jun-17 | 0.4 LD | 6.8 | 3 |
| 2023 LV | 2023-Jun-18 | 11.9 LD | 8 | 34 |
| 2023 LW | 2023-Jun-18 | 6.1 LD | 16.6 | 33 |
| 2016 LK49 | 2023-Jun-19 | 17.4 LD | 19.4 | 22 |
| 2023 LT1 | 2023-Jun-20 | 1.8 LD | 10.3 | 15 |
| 2023 HF1 | 2023-Jun-21 | 12.5 LD | 4.4 | 59 |
| 2023 MQ | 2023-Jun-23 | 3.1 LD | 8.8 | 11 |
| 2023 MU | 2023-Jun-23 | 18.5 LD | 14 | 56 |
| 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 | 27 |
| 2013 WV44 | 2023-Jun-28 | 9.1 LD | 11.8 | 95 |
| 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 HO6 | 2023-Jul-05 | 5.3 LD | 7.8 | 232 |
| 2023 LH2 | 2023-Jul-06 | 18.8 LD | 7.9 | 35 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
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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