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Science news and information about the Sun-Earth environment.

SPACE WEATHER
Current
Conditions

Solar Wind
speed: 375.0 km/s
density:
4.7 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2246 UT


X-ray Solar Flares

6-hr max:
B1 2035 UT Jun04
24-hr: B5 0905 UT Jun04
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2245 UT

Daily Sun: 04 Jun '06

A new sunspot is emerging over the sun's eastern limb. Credit: SOHO/MDI.


Sunspot Number: 0
What is the sunspot number?
Updated: 03 Jun 2006

Far Side of the Sun

This holographic image reveals a possible sunspot group on the far side of the sun. Image credit: SOHO/MDI

Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 1.7 nT
Bz:
0.2 nT north
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2247 UT

Coronal Holes:

A solar wind stream flowing from the indicated coronal hole should reach Earth on or about June 7th. Credit: GOES-12 Solar X-ray Imager


SPACE WEATHER
NOAA
Forecasts

Solar Flares: Probabilities for a medium-sized (M-class) or a major (X-class) solar flare during the next 24/48 hours are tabulated below.
Updated at 2006 Jun 04 2204 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 2006 Jun 04 2204 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr 24-48 hr
ACTIVE 05 % 10 %
MINOR 01 % 01 %
SEVERE 01 % 01 %

High latitudes
0-24 hr 24-48 hr
ACTIVE 10 % 15 %
MINOR 01 % 05 %
SEVERE 01 % 01 %

What's Up in Space -- 4 Jun 2006
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BINARY ASTEROID: Asteroid 2004 DC is flying by Earth this weekend about 2.5 million miles away. On June 2nd, astronomers using the giant Arecibo radar in Puerto Rico pinged the asteroid and discovered that it is actually two asteroids--a 60m rock orbiting a 300m rock. Researchers estimate that one in six near-Earth asteroids are binaries.

STRANGE CLOUDS: On Friday night, sky watchers in Northern Ireland witnessed a vivid display of electric-blue noctilucent clouds. Paul Evans took this picture from Larne, in Antrim County:

Noctilucent clouds (NLCs) are a mystery: They float through the outer reaches of Earth's atmosphere at the very edge of space. Some scientists think the clouds are seeded by space dust and fed by rocket exhaust. Others suspect they're a sign of global warming. Later this year, NASA plans to launch a satellite named AIM to investigate.

Friday night's display marks the beginning of the 2006 NLC season, which stretches from now until the end of northern summer. Click here for observing tips and a gallery of recent sightings.

NEW SUNSPOT: After two spotless days, a new sunspot is emerging over the sun's eastern limb. Francis Adelving photographed it from his backyard in Jarrie, France:

This new sunspot resembles a Pacific island chain-- in this case each island is about the size of Earth and made of seething magnetic force fields. Lesson: Even on a quiet day, you can see some extraordinary things through a solar telescope.

more images: from Greg Piepol of Rockville, Maryland.



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 4 Jun 2006 there were 793 known Potentially
Hazardous Asteroids

June-July 2006 Earth-asteroid encounters
ASTEROID

 DATE
(UT)

MISS DISTANCE

MAG.

 SIZE
2004 DC

Jun 3

10 LD

14

600 m
2003 YN107

Jun 10

8.7 LD

18

25 m
2004 XP14

Jul 3

1.1 LD

12

600 m
Notes: LD is a "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 Web Links

NOAA Space Environment 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. See also Snow Crystals.

Solar and Heliospheric Observatory -- Realtime and archival images of the Sun from SOHO. (European Mirror Site)

Daily Sunspot Summaries -- from the NOAA Space Environment Center.

Current Solar Images --a gallery of up-to-date solar pictures from the National Solar Data Analysis Center at the Goddard Space Flight Center. See also the GOES-12 Solar X-ray Imager.

Recent Solar Events -- a nice summary of current solar conditions from lmsal.com.

SOHO Farside Images of the Sun from SWAN and MDI.

The Latest SOHO Coronagraph Images -- from the Naval Research Lab

List of Potentially Hazardous Asteroids -- from the Harvard Minor Planet Center.

Observable Comets -- from the Harvard Minor Planet Center.

What is the Interplanetary Magnetic Field? -- A lucid answer from the University of Michigan. See also the Anatomy of Earth's Magnetosphere.

Real-time Solar Wind Data -- from NASA's ACE spacecraft. How powerful are solar wind gusts? Read this story from Science@NASA.

More Real-time Solar Wind Data -- from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory Proton Monitor.

Lists of Coronal Mass Ejections -- from 1998 to 2001

Mirages: Mirages in Finland; An Introduction to Mirages;

NOAA Solar Flare and Sunspot Data: 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999; 2000; 2001; 2002; 2003; 2004; 2005; Jan-Mar 2006;

Space Audio Streams: (University of Florida) 20 MHz radio emissions from Jupiter: #1, #2, #3, #4; (NASA/Marshall) INSPIRE: #1; (Stan Nelson of Roswell, New Mexico) meteor radar: #1, #2;

Recent International Astronomical Union Circulars

GLOSSARY | SPACE WEATHER TUTORIAL

This site is penned daily by Dr. Tony Phillips: email

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