A CME JUST HIT EARTH: A coronal mass ejection (CME) hit Earth's magnetic field on Aug. 19th at 1734 UT. So many CMEs have left the sun in recent days, it's hard to know for sure which one hit; probably this one. Minor (G1) to moderate (G2) geomagnetic storms are possible in the hours ahead.

THE EXPLOSIONS CONTINUE: In the past 24 hours, active sunspot AR3078 has produced four M-class solar flares and more than a dozen C-flares. Most of the explosions hurled debris into space. Here's a sample C-class event at the end of Aug. 18th:

The blast was bookended by similar explosions hours earlier and later. The fusillade could cause additional grazing CME impacts here on Earth Aug. 20th and 21st, extending the ongoing spate of geomagnetic 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.

Solar wind
speed: 673.3 km/sec
density: 11.93 protons/cm3
more data: ACE, DSCOVR
Updated: Today at 0846 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: C6 2031 UT Aug19
24-hr: M1 0444 UT Aug19
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2050 UT

Twin Sun Phenomena

https://spaceweather.com/images2022/17aug22/cme_anim.gif