SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids

SPACE WEATHER
Current conditions

Solar wind
speed: 356.2 km/sec
density: 4.9 protons/cm³
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 0515 UT

X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: B2 2335 UT Dec21
24-hr: C2 0715 UT Dec21
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2355 UT

Daily Sun: 22 Dec. 09

Sunspots 1036 and 1038 are members of new Solar Cycle 24. Image credit: SOHO/MDI

Sunspot number: 42
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 21 Dec 2009

Spotless Days
Current Stretch: 0 days
2009 total: 259 days (73%)
Since 2004: 770 days
Typical Solar Min: 485 days
explanation | more info
Updated 21 Dec 2009

Far side of the Sun:

This holographic image reveals no sunspots on the far side of the sun. Image credit: SOHO/MDI

Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 0 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 2 quiet
explanation | more data

Current Auroral Oval:

Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/POES

Interplanetary Mag. Field
B_total: 4.0 nT
B_z: 0.1 nT north
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 0516 UT

Coronal Holes:

A solar wind stream flowing from the indicated coronal hole could reach Earth on or about Dec. 23rd. Credit: SOHO Extreme UV Telescope

SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts

Updated at: 2009 Dec 21 2201 UTC

FLARE	0-24 hr	24-48 hr
CLASS M	10 %	05 %
CLASS X	01 %	01 %

Geomagnetic Storms:
Probabilities for significant disturbances in Earth's magnetic field are given for three activity levels: active, minor storm, severe storm

Updated at: 2009 Dec 21 2201 UTC

Mid-latitudes

	0-24 hr	24-48 hr
ACTIVE	05 %	05 %
MINOR	01 %	01 %
SEVERE	01 %	01 %

High latitudes

	0-24 hr	24-48 hr
ACTIVE	05 %	05 %
MINOR	01 %	01 %
SEVERE	01 %	01 %

What's up in Space

December 22, 2009

ASTRONOMY ALERTS: Looking for a unique and affordable gift? Give the heavens for Christmas at Spaceweather PHONE.

THE SEASONS ARE CHANGING: Today at 12:47 pm EST (1747 UT), the sun dipped to its lowest celestial latitude of the year. The event, called "the December solstice," marks the beginning of winter in the northern hemisphere and summer in the southern hemisphere. Happy Solstice! Stonehenge Solstice Photos: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5

SUNSET SKY SHOW: When the sun sets tonight, go outside and look up. Jupiter and the crescent Moon will be shining side-by-side in the southwestern sky. Photographer Mahdi Zamani sends this photo from Tehran, Iran:

"Jupiter and the Moon were spectacular shining through the fronds of this Middle Eastern-style Christmas tree," says Zamani. "I took the picture using a Canon 50D set at ISO 650 for six seonds."

Advice to readers: Look before the sky fades all the way to black. A bright conjunction of worlds framed by twilight blue is an especially lovely sight. [sky map]

more images: from Rafael Schmall of Hungary, Somogy, Kaposfo; from Valentin Grigore of Targoviste, Romania; from Khosro JafariZadeh of Shushtar, Khuzestan, Iran; from Alex Conu of Bucharest, Romania; from Catalin M. Timosca of Mihai Viteazul, Romania; from Tomasz Adam of Staszów, Poland; from Mohamad Soltanolkottabi of Kashan, Iran

DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME: Looking at the sun through unfiltered optics can be very dangerous. This is especially true if you're a snowman:

"He might have to wait till dark to catch any stars--if he lasts that long," says photographer Jonathan Bingham of Killead, Northern Ireland.

Today's sun is a tempting target. For the first time in a year and a half, there are three spots on the sun at the same time. With the sun in the pits of the deepest solar minimum in a century, such an outbreak is remarkable. Readers with safely-filtered solar telescopes should take a look.

more photos: from Andreas Murner of Rosenheim, Bavaria, Germany; from Rogerio Marcon of Campinas - Brasil; from Pete Lawrence of Selsey, West Sussex, UK; from Adrian Guzman of San Jose, CA; from Fabio Mariuzza of Biauzzo, Italy; from Richard Best of Lewes, Sussex, England; from Javier Temprano of Santander, Spain

December Northern Lights Gallery
[previous Decembers: 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2001, 2000]

Explore the Sunspot Cycle

Near-Earth Asteroids

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 December 22, 2009 there were 1090 potentially hazardous asteroids.

Dec. 2009 Earth-asteroid encounters:

Asteroid	Date(UT)	Miss Distance	Mag.	Size
2009 WV25	Dec. 1	2.9 LD	16	65 m
2009 WA52	Dec. 5	8.2 LD	20	23 m
2002 WP	Dec. 6	71.2 LD	16	950 m

Notes: LD means "Lunar Distance." 1 LD = 384,401 km, the distance between Earth and the Moon. 1 LD also equals 0.00256 AU. MAG is the visual magnitude of the asteroid on the date of closest approach.