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Solar wind
speed: 387.1 km/sec
density: 3.7 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2347 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: B8
2028 UT Jul08
24-hr: C1
1106 UT Jul08
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2300 UT
Daily Sun: 08 Jul 15
Sunspot 2381 has a 'beta-gamma' magnetic field that harbors energy for M-class solar flares. Credit: SDO/HMI

Sunspot number: 118
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 08 Jul 2015

Spotless Days
Current Stretch: 0 days
2015 total: 0 days (0%)

2014 total: 1 day (<1%)
2013 total: 0 days (0%)
2012 total: 0 days (0%)
2011 total: 2 days (<1%)
2010 total: 51 days (14%)
2009 total: 260 days (71%)

Updated 08 Jul 2015


The Radio Sun
10.7 cm flux: 133 sfu
explanation | more data
Updated 08 Jul 2015

Current Auroral Oval:
Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/Ovation
Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 2 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 2
quiet
explanation | more data
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 4.2 nT
Bz: 2.6 nT south
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2346 UT
Coronal Holes: 08 Jul 15

Solar wind flowing from the indicated coronal hole could reach Earth on July 11-12. Credit: SDO/AIA.
Noctilucent Clouds The northern season for NLCs is underway. NASA's AIM spacecraft spotted the first noctilucent clouds over the Arctic Circle on May 19th.
Switch view: Europe, USA, Asia, Polar
Updated at: 07-08-2015 17:55:02
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts
Updated at: 2015 Jul 08 2200 UTC
FLARE
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
CLASS M
20 %
20 %
CLASS X
05 %
05 %
Geomagnetic Storms:
Probabilities for significant disturbances in Earth's magnetic field are given for three activity levels: active, minor storm, severe storm
Updated at: 2015 Jul 08 2200 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
10 %
30 %
MINOR
05 %
15 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %
High latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
15 %
15 %
MINOR
20 %
30 %
SEVERE
20 %
40 %
 
Wednesday, Jul. 8, 2015
What's up in space
 

Come to Tromsø and share Marianne's passion for rural photography: Chasethelighttours.co.uk invites you to experience "Heaven on Earth" with an aurora, fjord, fishing, whale watching, photography or sightseeing tour.

 
Chase the Light Tours

CO-ROTATING INTERACTION REGION: NOAA forecasters estimate a 40% chance of polar geomagnetic storms on July 10th when a co-rotating interaction region (CIR) is expected to hit Earth's magnetic field. CIRs are transition zones between fast- and slow-moving solar wind streams. Solar wind plasma piles up in these regions, producing density gradients and shock waves that do a good job of sparking auroras. Aurora alerts: text or voice.

SOLAR ACTIVITY: Solar activity is low, but it is not zero. Today in Nîmes, France, astrphotographer Philippe Tosi observed a massive filament of plasma erupting from the sun's southwestern limb. As the blue-marble inset shows, the structure was big enough to swallow Earth:

Despite the twisting ferocity of the explosion, the sun's gravity kept the filament under control. Most of the mass in Tosi's photo fell back to the surface of the sun where it was reabsorbed. The explosion was not geoeffective.

The face of the sun is peppered with spots, but none of them is flaring. Amateur astronomers with solar telescopes are encouraged to scan the limb of the sun, instead. Apparently, that is where the action is.

Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery

NOCTILUCENT CLOUDS: Summer is the season for noctilucent (night-shining) clouds, and the month of July is often when they are at their best. On July 6th, Jüri Voit photographed these electric-blue ripples over Estonia:

"The combination of moonlight and noctilucent clouds (NLCs) was magical," says Voit. "What a night!"

NLCs are Earth's highest clouds. Seeded by meteoroids, they float at the edge of space more than 80 km above the planet's surface. The clouds are very cold and filled with tiny ice crystals. When sunbeams hit those crystals, they glow electric-blue.

Noctilucent clouds first appeared in the 19th century after the eruption of super-volcano Krakatoa. At the time, people thought NLCs were caused by the eruption, but long after Krakatoa's ash settled, the clouds remained. In recent years, NLCs have intensified and spread with summer sightings as far south as Utah and Colorado. This could be a sign of increasing greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere.

Observing tips: Look west 30 to 60 minutes after sunset when the Sun has dipped 6o to 16o below the horizon. If you see luminous blue-white tendrils spreading across the sky, you may have spotted a noctilucent cloud.

Realtime NLC Photo Gallery

CANADIAN WILDFIRE SEASON: "Minnesota has several unusual seasons: winter, mosquito, and road construction, to name a few," says Aaron Seefeld of Hastings, MN. "Over the last few years, another season has emerged - Canadian wildfire season. The skies turn grey and objects in the sky turn red, if they're visible at all." He photographed this smoke-reddened Moon on July 3rd:

"On the night of 3 July, a waning full Moon was masked by the smoke particles hanging in the air," says Seefel. "It was supposed to rise at 22:02 local time, but - despite 'clear' skies - didnt appear until close to 23:00. When it did start to emerge, it was deep red."

The smoke plumes from Canadian wildfires are so large and dense that NASA satellites have been photographing them from space. Here is an example from the Terra satellite on June 30th.

In addition to reddening the Moon, Canadian smoke is also dimming the sun, allowing big sunspots like AR2381 to pop into view at sunset. Charles Russell sends this report from Greenville, Michigan: "The thick smoke in the upper atmosphere as a result of the wildfires in Canada acted as a filter, which allowed me to see and capture this photo with clusters of sunspots clearly visible on the solar disk!"

"Canadian wildfire season" is affecting the skies of more than a dozen US states. Monitor the realtime photo gallery for more smokey sightings.


Realtime Sprite Photo Gallery


Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery


  All Sky Fireball Network

Every night, a network of NASA all-sky cameras scans the skies above the United States for meteoritic fireballs. Automated software maintained by NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office calculates their orbits, velocity, penetration depth in Earth's atmosphere and many other characteristics. Daily results are presented here on Spaceweather.com.

On Jul. 8, 2015, the network reported 7 fireballs.
(5 sporadics, 1 phi Piscid, 1 July Pegasid)

In this diagram of the inner solar system, all of the fireball orbits intersect at a single point--Earth. The orbits are color-coded by velocity, from slow (red) to fast (blue). [Larger image] [movies]

  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 July 8, 2015 there were potentially hazardous asteroids.
Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Size
2015 MO116
Jul 7
4.9 LD
67 m
2005 VN5
Jul 7
12.6 LD
18 m
2015 HM10
Jul 7
1.1 LD
81 m
2015 NR2
Jul 9
10.7 LD
28 m
1994 AW1
Jul 15
25.3 LD
1.3 km
2011 UW158
Jul 19
6.4 LD
540 m
2013 BQ18
Jul 20
7.9 LD
38 m
1999 JD6
Jul 25
18.8 LD
1.6 km
2005 NZ6
Aug 6
76.5 LD
1.4 km
2005 JF21
Aug 16
20.1 LD
1.6 km
2004 BO41
Aug 31
57.3 LD
1.2 km
1991 CS
Sep 4
62.1 LD
1.4 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
Heliophysics
  the underlying science of space weather
Columbia Northern High School
  Web-based high school science course with free enrollment
  more links...
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