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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: 596.1 km/sec
density: 0.8 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2243 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: A0
1905 UT Mar02
24-hr: A0
1905 UT Mar02
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2245 UT
Daily Sun: 02 Mar 08
The sun is blank--no sunspots. Credit: SOHO/MDI
Sunspot number: 0
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 01 Mar 2008
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= 1 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 3
quiet
explanation | more data
Current Auroral Oval:

Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/POES
What is the auroral oval?
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 3.2 nT
Bz: 3.2 nT south
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2244 UT
Coronal Holes:
Earth is inside a solar wind stream flowing from the indicated coronal hole. Credit:SOHO Extreme UV Telescope
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts
Updated at: 2008 Mar 02 2203 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: 2008 Mar 02 2203 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
15 %
15 %
MINOR
05 %
05 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %
High latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
15 %
15 %
MINOR
05 %
05 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %

What's up in Space
March 2, 2008
Where's Saturn? Is that a UFO--or the ISS? What's the name of that star? Get the answers from mySKY--a fun new astronomy helper from Meade.   mySKY

SOLAR FILAMENT: There are no sunspots today, but that doesn't mean the sun is blank. On the contrary, says amateur astronomer Paulo Casquinha of Palmela, Portugal, "looking through my Personal Solar Telescope, I see a very active star." He sends this picture of a dark filament nearly 200,000 miles long. Filaments are clouds of solar hydrogen held aloft by magnetic force fields; there are many of them floating above the sun's surface this weekend. If you have a solar telescope, take a look!

more images: from P. Presby, J. Fairfull and J Stetson of South Portland, Maine; from Greg Piepol of Rockville, Maryland;

NORTHERN OUTBURST: Last night (March 1st) in Ersfjord, Norway, Bjorn Jorgensen observed "an outburst of auroras so powerful, it turned the ground green. The display lasted only a few minutes," but that was enough for an unforgettable snapshot:

Sudden outbursts like this are a mystery of space science. Oh, researchers know what causes auroras: Charged particles from space rain down on Earth's upper atmosphere causing the air to glow where they hit. But (here is the mystery) last night there was no sharp gust of solar wind to account for an outburst of the sort pictured above. Where did it come from? Answering this question is the mission of THEMIS, a fleet of five spacecraft launched a year ago by NASA to investigate the origin of auroral "substorms." March 1st should have provided some good data.

March 2nd and 3rd might do the same. A solar wind stream is pressing against Earth's magnetic field and NOAA forecasters estimate a 35% chance of geomagnetic storms. Sky watchers in Alaska, Canada and Scandinavia should remain alert for auroras.

March 2008 Aurora Gallery
[Interactive World Map of Aurora Sightings]
[Aurora Alerts] [Night-sky Cameras]

LUNAR LIBRATION: A few days ago, NASA released new high-resolution radar maps of the Moon's south pole, revealing a fantastic land with peaks as high as Mt McKinley and craters four times deeper than the Grand Canyon. But wait. How did NASA radars located in California see the south pole of the Moon? The answer is lunar libration. As the Moon goes around its orbit, it seems to nod back and forth, tipping its north pole toward Earth one week and its south pole toward Earth two weeks later. The effect is illustrated in this composite photo of February's quarter moons:

"Two photos taken at first quarter and 3rd quarter were combined to demonstrate the libration of the Moon," says photographer Howard Eskildsen of Ocala, Florida. "The Ptolemaeus group (three distinctive craters near center of photo) were used as the anchor point."

Libration happens because the Moon's orbit is slightly elliptical (5%) and slightly tilted (5°). The two effects combine to provide a constantly changing point of view as the Moon goes around Earth. It is often said that the same side (i.e., the same 50%) of the Moon always faces our planet, but libration allows us to observe not just 50% but rather 59% of the Moon's surface.


Lunar Eclipse Photo Gallery
[Interactive World Map of Eclipse Photos]

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. [comment]
On March 2, 2008 there were 935 potentially hazardous asteroids.
March 2008 Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Mag.
Size
2008 DH5
Mar. 5
7.1 LD
18
60 m
1620 Geographos
Mar. 17
49 LD
13
3 km
2003 FY6
Mar. 21
6.3 LD
15
145 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.
Essential Links
NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center
  The official U.S. government bureau for real-time monitoring of solar and geophysical events, research in solar-terrestrial physics, and forecasting solar and geophysical disturbances.
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.
Daily Sunspot Summaries
  From the NOAA Space Environment Center
Current Solar Images
  from the National Solar Data Analysis Center
  more links...
©2008, SpaceWeather.com -- This site is penned daily by Dr. Tony Phillips.
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