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SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids
 
Solar wind
speed: 309.2 km/sec
density: 2.7 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2345 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: B1
1940 UT Oct07
24-hr: B1
1940 UT Oct07
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2340 UT
Daily Sun: 07 Oct 10
There are no sunspots on the Earth-facing side of the sun. Credit: SDO/HMI. 2-day movie: 6.5 MB mpg
Sunspot number: 0
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 06 Oct 2010

Spotless Days
Current Stretch: 2 days
2010 total: 43 days (15%)
2009 total: 260 days (71%)
Since 2004: 811 days
Typical Solar Min: 486 days
explanation | more info
Updated 06 Oct 2010


The Radio Sun
10.7 cm flux: 74 sfu
explanation | more data
Updated 06 Oct 2010

Current Auroral Oval:
Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/POES
Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 0 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 2
quiet
explanation | more data
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 5.7 nT
Bz: 4.8 nT south
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2345 UT
Coronal Holes: 07 Oct 10
A minor solar wind stream flowing from this small coronal hole could hit Earth's magnetic field on or about Oct. 9th. Credit: SDO/AIA. 2-day movie: 21 MB mpg
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts
Updated at: 2010 Oct 07 2200 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: 2010 Oct 07 2200 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
10 %
10 %
MINOR
01 %
01 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %
High latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
15 %
15 %
MINOR
01 %
01 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %
 
Thursday, Oct. 7, 2010
What's up in space
 

AURORA ALERTS: Did you miss the Northern Lights? Next time get a wake-up call from Space Weather PHONE

 

ONE YEAR UNTIL THE METEOR OUTBURST: Every year around Oct. 8th, Earth passes through a minefield of dusty debris from Comet Giacobini-Zinner, source of the annual Draconid meteor shower. This year, forecasters expect Earth to narrowly miss several of the debris streams, resulting in no appreciable display for 2010. Next year, however, could be different. On Oct. 8, 2011, Earth will have a near head-on collision with a tendril of dust, setting off a strong outburst of as many as 750 meteors per hour. People in Europe, Africa and the Middle East will have a front-row seat for what could be the strongest shower since the Leonid storms a decade ago. Mark your calendar and, meanwhile, follow these links for more information: Draconid forecasts; sky map; history;

FILAMENT ECLIPSE: At this time of year, near the autumnal equinox, the Earth can pass directly between the sun and NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, producing a brief eclipse. Yesterday this happened just as a magnetic filament was flying off the sun's northeastern limb. The advancing edge of the Earth cut the sun in half at the moment of maximum eruption:


Click here to view the full-sized image

Even by the lofty standards of SDO, this is a shot of rare beauty. A 5 1/2 hour movie sets the scene in motion; you can see the big-picture (5 MB gif) or a close-up (2 MB mpeg) of the filament. Another movie omits the Earth-shadows; it is easier to follow the filament, yet somehow less photogenic.

The eruption hurled a coronal mass ejection into space (SOHO saw it) but not toward Earth. No geomagnetic storms are expected as a result of the blast.

COMET HARTLEY UPDATE: As comet 103P/Hartley 2 approaches Earth for an 11-million-mile close encounter on Oct. 20th, it grows bigger and bigger in backyard telescopes. The comet's beautiful green atmosphere now subtends an angle approcimately equal to a lunar sea:

Paul Klauninger of Marathon, Ontario, took the picture on Oct. 2nd using a 3-inch refracting telescope. "I photographed the Moon with the same set-up and placed it beside the comet for scale," he says. "In a five minute exposure the comet appears bright green and 7-8 arcminutes across."

Most observers agree that the comet is not yet visible to the naked eye, but may be found using binoculars. Tonight the comet is located a mere 1o from the photogenic Double Cluster in Perseus. Details and a sky map are available from from Sky & Telescope.

more images: from Nick Howes of Cherhill, Wiltshire, UK; from Paul Evans of Larne, Northern Ireland; from P-M Hedén of Vallenuna, Sweden


Sept. 2010 Northern Lights Gallery
[previous Septembers: 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2002, 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 October 7, 2010 there were 1149 potentially hazardous asteroids.
Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Mag.
Size
1999 VO6
Oct 14
34.3 LD
16.9
1.8 km
2010 TK
Oct 16
4.5 LD
25.3
39 m
1998 TU3
Oct 17
69.1 LD
14.6
5.2 km
1998 MQ
Oct 23
77.7 LD
16.7
1.9 km
2007 RU17
Oct 29
39.2 LD
18
1.1 km
2003 UV11
Oct 30
5 LD
19.3
595 m
3838 Epona
Nov 7
76.8 LD
15.5
3.4 km
2005 QY151
Nov 16
77.7 LD
17.6
1.3 km
2008 KT
Nov 23
5.6 LD
28.2
10 m
2002 EZ16
Nov 30
73.9 LD
18.2
1.0 km
2000 JH5
Dec 7
47 LD
17.3
1.5 km
2010 JL33
Dec 9
16.6 LD
17.6
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 web 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 Dynamics Observatory
  Researchers call it a "Hubble for the sun." SDO is the most advanced solar observatory ever.
STEREO
  3D views of the sun from NASA's Solar and Terrestrial Relations Observatory
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
Science Central
   
  more links...
 
 
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