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SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids
SPACE WEATHER
Current conditions
Solar wind
speed: 376.3 km/sec
density: 0.6 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2346 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: A0
2340 UT Sep01
24-hr: A0
2340 UT Sep01
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2340 UT
Daily Sun: 01 Sept. 09
Sunspot 1025, which emerged yesterday to interrupt a string of 51 spotless days, may already be fading away. Photo credit: SOHO/MDI

more images: from Pete Lawrence of Selsey, West Sussex, UK; from J. Maciaszek and J. Stetson of South Portland, Maine; from Erika Rix of Zanesville, Ohio; from Cai-Uso Wohler of Bispingen, Germany
Sunspot number: 12
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 31 Aug 2009

Spotless Days
Current Stretch: 0 days
2009 total: 193 days (79%)
Since 2004: 704 days
Typical Solar Min: 485 days
explanation | more info
Updated 31 Aug 2009

Far side of the Sun:
This holographic image reveals a possible sunspot on the far side of the sun. Check tomorrow's image for confirmation. Image credit: SOHO/MDI
Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 1 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
Btotal: 2.3 nT
Bz: 1.1 nT south
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2347 UT
Coronal Holes:
A solar wind stream flowing from the indicated coronal hole could reach Earth on Sept. 3rd or 4th. Credit: SOHO Extreme UV Telescope
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts
Updated at: 2009 Sep 01 2201 UTC
FLARE
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
CLASS M
01 %
01 %
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 Sep 01 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
September 1, 2009

AURORA ALERT: Did you miss the Northern Lights? In July they descended as far south as Nebraska. Next time get a wake-up call: Spaceweather PHONE.

 

SUNSPOT 1025: A new sunspot emerged yesterday and interrupted a 51-day string of blank suns. It wasn't much of an interruption. Sunspot 1025 is small and may already be fading away. Readers with solar telescopes are encouraged to monitor the situation.

AURORA WATCH: On August 30th, a gust of solar wind hit Earth and sparked auroras so bright they were visible in arctic twilight. This is what the sky looked like over Tromso, Norway:

"What a pleasure to be outdoors on a late-summer evening with a warm breeze and the auroras dancing overhead," says photographer Kjetil Skogli. "I took the picture using a Canon 5D Mark II."

More auroras are in the offing. A solar wind stream is heading for Earth and it could spark a geomagnetic storm when it arrives on Sept. 3rd or 4th. Residents of Alaska, Canada, Iceland and Scandinavia should keep an eye on the sky in the nights ahead.

August 2009 Aurora Gallery
[previous Augusts: 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001]

TWO SPACESHIPS: Space shuttle Discovery is docked to the International Space Station (ISS) and, thus joined, the two spaceships are putting on a good show in the night sky. Peter Rosén caught them flying over Stockholm, Sweden, just before sunrise on August 31st:

"The mission is getting a lot of media coverage here because of our Swedish astronaut Christer Fuglesang," says Rosén.

Yesterday, Fuglesang helped unload more than 15,000 lb (Earth weight) of supplies from Discovery's cargo bay. Much of that weight was laboratory equipment. Astronauts are outfitting the space station's science labs with a -80 degree research freezer; a rack of hardware to study crystals and semiconductors in low gravity; and a new set of tools for microgravity fluid physics experiments. NASA says this mission marks an important transition. The space station's "Under Construction" sign is coming down and its world-class science labs are ramping up.

That's worth a look. Check the Simple Satellite Tracker for flybys.


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 September 1, 2009 there were 1068 potentially hazardous asteroids.
August 2009 Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Mag.
Size
2009 MC9
Aug. 7
70.3 LD
16
1.2 km
2009 OF
Aug. 8
15.4 LD
18
220 m
2007 RQ17
Aug. 9
8.4 LD
17
130 m
2000 LC16
Aug. 17
75.6 LD
14
2.0 km
2006 SV19
Aug. 21
59.2 LD
16
1.3 km
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.
Essential Links
NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center
  The official U.S. government space weather bureau
Atmospheric Optics
  The first place to look for information about sundogs, pillars, rainbows and related phenomena.
Solar and Heliospheric Observatory
  Realtime and archival images of the Sun from SOHO.
STEREO
  3D views of the sun from NASA's Solar and Terrestrial Relations Observatory
Daily Sunspot Summaries
  from the NOAA Space Environment Center
Current Solar Images
  from the National Solar Data Analysis Center
Science Central
   
  more links...
   
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