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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: 383.6 km/sec
density: 1.1 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2245 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: A0
2245 UT Dec04
24-hr: A0
2245 UT Dec04
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2245 UT
Daily Sun: 04 Dec 08
The sun is blank--no sunspots. Credit: SOHO/MDI
Sunspot number: 0
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 03 Dec. 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= 0 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: 7.3 nT
Bz: 0.8 nT south
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2247 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 Dec 04 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: 2008 Dec 04 2201 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
30 %
15 %
MINOR
10 %
05 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %
High latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
35 %
20 %
MINOR
15 %
10 %
SEVERE
05 %
05 %
What's up in Space
December 4, 2008
NORTHERN LIGHTS: Did you sleep through the auroras of November? Next time get a wake-up call: Spaceweather PHONE.  

RETURN OF THE LEONIDS: Astronomers from Caltech and NASA are predicting a near-storm of meteors in 2009 based on a surprising outburst of Leonids just a few weeks ago. Get the full story from Science@NASA.

GREAT CONJUNCTION: Postulate: One moon + two planets = the sky show of the year. The proof may be found in this photo submitted by Jamie Russell from the United Kingdom's Isle of Wight:

He opened the shutter of his Canon 300D on the evening of Dec. 1st moments after Venus emerged from behind the Moon. Meanwhile, Jupiter looked on from above. Together, the ensemble beamed down on St. Catherine's Lighthouse, built 170 years ago atop the Niton Undercliffe. "It was a lovely scene," he says.

All around the world, sky watchers watched with pleasure as Venus, Jupiter and the Moon gathered in one tiny patch of sky and then dispersed again. But was it really the sky show of the year? Browse the gallery and decide for yourself:

Great Conjunction Photo Gallery

PROTO-SUNSPOTS: Magnetic fields are pushing through the surface of the sun today, producing a pair of planet-sized dipoles with the potential to form sunspots. Circles denote their locations in this SOHO magnetic map of the sun:

The high-latitude and magnetic polarity of these "proto-sunspots" identify them as members of new Solar Cycle 24. Even if they fail to coelesce into truly dark-cored sunspots, they are still significant. They remind us that Cycle 24 is approaching and the eerie quiet of solar minimum won't last forever. Readers, if you have a solar telescope, target the proto-sunspots for a sign of things to come.


 

Nov. 2008 Aurora Gallery
[Previous Novembers: 2007, 2006, 2004, 2003, 2001, 2000]

       
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 4, 2008 there were 1006 potentially hazardous asteroids.
Dec. 2008 Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Mag.
Size
2008 WY94
Dec. 5
3.2 LD
19
35 m
2008 WG14
Dec. 5
4.8 LD
17
49 m
2008 XK
Dec. 6
1.7 LD
17
15 m
2008 XC1
Dec. 13
4.3 LD
16
102 m
2006 VB14
Dec. 14
36 LD
15
795 m
2008 EV5
Dec. 23
8.4 LD
13
435 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 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
  a one-stop hub for all things scientific
  more links...
   
©2008, SpaceWeather.com -- This site is penned daily by Dr. Tony Phillips.
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