MINOR GEOMAGNETIC STORM: Solar wind data suggest that a CME passed close to Earth on June 24th around 1900 UT. The near miss opened a crack in Earth's magnetosphere and sparked a minor G1-class geomagnetic storm. This could be the CME from last Tuesday's X1-flare.
Auroras from the storm spread across Europe far south as Slovenia. Anton Špenko photographed the geomagnetic glow from Kamnik at latitude +46N:
"These auroras were not clearly visible with naked eyes, but the sky behind our mountains looked strangely bright," says Špenko. "I pointed my camera in that direction and it easily picked up the red glow." Aurora alerts: SMS Text
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
MID-LATITUDE NOCTILUCENT CLOUDS: Last night in Europe, observers saw noctilucent clouds (NLCs) as far south as Italy. Paolo Bardelli sends this picture from Vegonno at latitude +45N:
"I wasn't absolutely sure that this was an NLC," says Bardelli. However, two factors suggest it is: First, the very fine ripples in Bardelli's photo are typical of NLCs. Ripples are impressed upon the clouds by gravity waves propagating up to the mesosphere from storms near Earth's surface.
Second, a similar cloud was sighted at about the same time in Germany, shown here in a photo from Heiko Ulbricht of Saxony at latitude +51N:
"This was my NLC first sighting in the 2023 season-- a small but beautiful NLC just over the north horizon," says Ulbricht. "It's about time we got something to see. NLC season is extremely sluggish this year."
NLCs are clouds of frosted meteor smoke. They form every year in summer when wisps of water vapor rise up to the edge of space. At altitudes greater than 80 km, the water crystallizes around disintegrated meteoroids, forming electric-blue structures visible in the night sky.
Ulbricht noted that this season is "extremely sluggish." Solar Cycle 25 might be to blame. Extreme ultraviolet photons from the active sun make it harder for ice to form in the mesosphere, suppressing NLCs. Mid-latitude sightings like these could be rare in the summer of 2023. Enjoy them while you can!
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
STERLING SILVER "I LOVE YOU MORE" PENDANT: No monkeying around--this gift is a true expression of love. Engraved with the words "I love you more," the humorous pendant shows a cute money gazing at a golden banana inside a sterling silver heart. Best of all, it has been to the edge of space:
You can have it for $134.95. On June 20, 2023, the pendant hitched a ride onboard a cosmic ray research balloon, reaching an altitude of 104,345 ft. It comes with a greeting card showing the pendant in flight and telling the story of its journey to the stratosphere and back again.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
Realtime Noctilucent Cloud Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter