Never miss another geomagnetic storm. Sign up for Space Weather Alerts and you'll receive a text message when magnetic storms erupt. Aurora tour guides and professional astronomers use this service. You can, too! | | |
MID-LATITUDE AURORAS: During yesterday's strong geomagnetic storm, auroras descended to unusually low latitudes including Albany, Missouri (+40N); Fort Collins, Colorado (+40.6N); West Oak, Nebraska (+41N); and La Grande, Oregon (+45N). For some of these displays, the colors were not visible to the naked eye; only the camera saw them. But not all: "Red pillars and a green band were visible to the naked eye just north of Fort Collins for nearly an hour around local midnight on Feb 26/27," says photoghrapher Michael Charnick. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
ANOHER STRONG SOLAR FLARE: Sunspot AR3234 exploded today, Feb. 28th at 1750 UTC, producing an M8.6-class solar flare, percentage points below X-class. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the extreme ultraviolet flash:
An impulsive burst of X-rays ionized the top of Earth's atmosphere, causing a shortwave radio blackout over the Americas. Aviators and ham radio operators may have noticed loss of signal below 30 MHz for a half hour or more after the flare. Stay tuned for updates about a possible CME. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text.
STRONG GEOMAGNETIC STORMS: One and perhaps two CMEs hit Earth's magnetic field on Feb. 26th and 27th, sparking a series of strong G3-class geomagnetic storms with auroras in both hemispheres. Alexandre Croisier witnessed the light show over Mont Saint-Michel in France:
"The Northern Lights were really impressive, with a fantastic red color," says Croisier. "It was a short moment, only about 1 minute with such bright auroras, but truly wonderful to see from one of the most beautiful places in Europe."
Mont Saint-Michel is a small island located off the coast of Normandy. It is home to a stunning medieval abbey that rises majestically above the surrounding landscape. The island has a rich history dating back to the 8th century when it was first used as a religious retreat. Over the years, it has been a fortress, a prison, a place of pilgrimage--and now, the centerpiece of a fantastic auroral display.
Meanwhile on the other side of the world, Ian Griffin photographed the display from New Zealand:
"What an epic night!" says Griffin. "There was an absolutely amazing display of Southern Lights over Hoopers Inlet on the Otago Peninsula. A clear sky and no wind made for simply beautiful reflections. I've just got home after being up all night with the biggest grin ever on my face!"
Did you miss the storm? Next time get a text alert. Subscribers to the Space Weather Alert Service receive instant text messages when CMEs arrive and geomagnetic storms are underway.
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
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EDGE OF SPACE BUTTERFLY PENDANT: Are you looking for a far-out gift? Consider the Edge of Space Butterfly. On June 26, 2022, this crystal pendant hitched a ride onboard an Earth to Sky Calculus cosmic ray research balloon:
You can have it for $172.95. The inner yellow citrine crystal is surrounded by a "spread your wings" lattice of sparkling zirconia. A rich layer of rhodium plating ensures the longevity of the pendant and its 18-inch chain.
The Edge of Space Butterfly makes a great anniversary, Christmas, or birthday gift. It comes with a greeting card showing the pendant in flight and telling the story of its trip to the stratosphere and back again.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
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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 Feb 27 2023, the network reported 5 fireballs.
(5 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 February 28, 2023 there were 2331 potentially hazardous asteroids.
 |
Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters: | Asteroid | Date(UT) | Miss Distance | Velocity (km/s) | Diameter (m) |
| 2023 CS1 | 2023-Feb-23 | 15.1 LD | 9.1 | 32 |
| 2023 DR | 2023-Feb-25 | 0.2 LD | 14 | 4 |
| 2023 DK | 2023-Feb-25 | 6.6 LD | 4 | 9 |
| 2023 CG1 | 2023-Feb-25 | 15.2 LD | 6.5 | 32 |
| 2023 DA | 2023-Feb-26 | 2.8 LD | 5.9 | 18 |
| 2023 CX2 | 2023-Feb-27 | 7.6 LD | 2.3 | 11 |
| 2023 CC2 | 2023-Feb-27 | 16.2 LD | 5.1 | 31 |
| 2012 DK31 | 2023-Feb-27 | 12.6 LD | 15.5 | 143 |
| 2006 BE55 | 2023-Feb-28 | 9.4 LD | 13.3 | 145 |
| 2023 DX | 2023-Mar-03 | 5.2 LD | 13.1 | 24 |
| 2021 QW | 2023-Mar-03 | 13.9 LD | 12.1 | 79 |
| 2017 BM123 | 2023-Mar-03 | 12.1 LD | 7.8 | 61 |
| 2007 ED125 | 2023-Mar-03 | 11.7 LD | 13.1 | 224 |
| 2015 EG | 2023-Mar-04 | 13.9 LD | 10.6 | 27 |
| 2023 DU | 2023-Mar-05 | 3.3 LD | 11.7 | 30 |
| 2023 BK5 | 2023-Mar-05 | 17.8 LD | 8.4 | 62 |
| 535844 | 2023-Mar-07 | 10.5 LD | 7.7 | 149 |
| 2023 DQ | 2023-Mar-08 | 6.2 LD | 22.8 | 170 |
| 2020 FQ | 2023-Mar-09 | 14 LD | 6.3 | 13 |
| 2020 FV4 | 2023-Mar-13 | 17.6 LD | 8.2 | 30 |
| 2023 CM | 2023-Mar-14 | 10.3 LD | 14 | 190 |
| 2023 DM | 2023-Mar-15 | 8.5 LD | 7.3 | 66 |
| 2018 UQ1 | 2023-Mar-17 | 10.7 LD | 11.7 | 143 |
| 2016 WH | 2023-Mar-19 | 18.1 LD | 11.8 | 14 |
| 2018 FE3 | 2023-Mar-21 | 10.1 LD | 5.4 | 13 |
| 2023 CE4 | 2023-Mar-29 | 20 LD | 10.1 | 93 |
| 2022 YK4 | 2023-Mar-29 | 11.9 LD | 2.3 | 25 |
| 2017 SE12 | 2023-Mar-30 | 5.2 LD | 8.4 | 15 |
| 2016 GH1 | 2023-Mar-30 | 7.7 LD | 5.8 | 11 |
| 2022 GO3 | 2023-Apr-02 | 17 LD | 11.6 | 15 |
| 2021 GN1 | 2023-Apr-02 | 17.7 LD | 14.2 | 18 |
| 2018 FD | 2023-Apr-07 | 17.9 LD | 8.2 | 47 |
| 2019 GK21 | 2023-Apr-13 | 15.2 LD | 8.1 | 27 |
| 2022 YK9 | 2023-Apr-13 | 19.9 LD | 9.9 | 175 |
| 436774 | 2023-Apr-13 | 12.5 LD | 17.6 | 719 |
| 2006 HV5 | 2023-Apr-26 | 6.3 LD | 17.4 | 400 |
| 2021 JF2 | 2023-Apr-28 | 16.6 LD | 8 | 19 |
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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