SpaceWeather.com Archive — Sun, Jul 20, 2025

« backSun, Jul 20, 2025forward »

QUIET WITH A CHANCE OF X-FLARES: Solar activity is low, with no strong flares observed for more than a week. However, there are currently 8 sunspot groups on the solar disk, and at least two of them have unstable 'beta-gamma' magnetic fields. NOAA forecasters say there is a 10% chance that an X-flare will break the quiet during the next 24 hours. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text

A LATE-SEASON OUTBREAK OF NOCTILUCENT CLOUDS: Dawn came early to Europe today. However, it wasn't the sun lighting up the morning sky. This was a late-season outbreak of noctilucent clouds:

"This morning we had a vast display of electric-blue clouds that reached all the way to the zenith," says photographer Marek Nikodem of Szubin, Poland. "Additionally, the waning Moon, the Pleiades, and the brilliantly brilliant Venus were almost aligned, beautifully decorating the sky."

NLCs are Earth's highest clouds, more than 80 km high. They form in early summer when plumes of water vapor rise to the edge of space and frost the ashes of disintegrated meteors. Typically, the clouds start to fade away in late July. So far, though, they are still going strong.

"The season is not over yet," says Nikodem. High-latitude sky watchers should remain alert for electric blue.

more images: from Heiko Ulbricht of Spechtshausen, Saxony, Germany; from Alan C Tough of Elgin, Moray, Scotland, UK

Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter

IT'S CHRISTMAS IN JULY: Are you looking for a far-out gift? Check out the Earth to Sky Store. It's filled with unique items that have flown to the edge of space onboard cosmic ray research balloons.

Carried aloft by giant helium balloons, these unique gifts have flown above 99.7% of Earth's atmosphere, experiencing space-like blasts of cosmic rays, extreme cold, and a wild ride parachuting back to Earth after the balloon explodes. Even Amazon doesn't carry items this far out.