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Solar wind
speed: 399.4 km/sec
density: 5.4 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2346 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: C1
2147 UT Jul09
24-hr: C2
0244 UT Jul09
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2300 UT
Daily Sun: 09 July 13
Earth-facing sunspots AR1785 and AR1787 have a beta-gamma-delta magnetic fields that harbor energy for X-class solar flares. Credit: SDO/HMI
Sunspot number: 143
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 09 Jul 2013

Spotless Days
Current Stretch: 0 days
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%)
Since 2004: 821 days
Typical Solar Min: 486 days

Update
09 Jul 2013

The Radio Sun
10.7 cm flux: 119 sfu
explanation | more data
Updated 09 Jul 2013

Current Auroral Oval:
Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/POES
Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 3 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 3
quiet
explanation | more data
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 11.0 nT
Bz: 7.8 nT north
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2347 UT
Coronal Holes: 09 Jul 13
There are no large coronal holes on the Earthside of the sun. Credit: SDO/AIA.

Spaceweather.com is now posting daily satellite images of noctilucent clouds (NLCs), which hover over Earth's poles at the edge of space. The data come from NASA's AIM spacecraft. The north polar "daisy" pictured below is a composite of near-realtime images from AIM assembled by researchers at the University of Colorado's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP).
Noctilucent Clouds
Switch view: Europe, USA, Asia, Polar
Updated at: 07-08-2013 09:55:04
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts
Updated at: 2013 Jul 09 2200 UTC
FLARE
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
CLASS M
55 %
55 %
CLASS X
10 %
10 %
Geomagnetic Storms:
Probabilities for significant disturbances in Earth's magnetic field are given for three activity levels: active, minor storm, severe storm
Updated at: 2013 Jul 09 2200 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
30 %
20 %
MINOR
10 %
05 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %
High latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
15 %
15 %
MINOR
30 %
25 %
SEVERE
40 %
30 %
 
Tuesday, Jul. 9, 2013
What's up in space
 

When is the best time to see auroras? Where is the best place to go? And how do you photograph them? These questions and more are answered in a new book, Northern Lights - a Guide, by Pal Brekke & Fredrik Broms.

 
Northern Lights - a Guide

WEAK IMPACT: A minor CME hit Earth's magnetic field on July 9th at approximately 20:30 UT. The impact was weak and did not immediately trigger a geomagnetic storm. Aurora alerts: text, voice.

POTENT SUNSPOTS, STILL QUIET: Sunspots AR1785 and AR1787 are defying the odds. Despite the fact that both sunspots have unstable magnetic fields laden with energy for strong flares, solar activity remains low. Maybe it is the calm before the storm. NOAA forecasters estimate a 55% chance of M-class solar flares on July 8th. Solar flare alerts: text, voice.

THE THINNEST CRESCENT: Astrophotographer Thierry Legault is known for his razor-sharp images of spacecraft. Yesterday, for a change of pace, he photographed a razor-sharp crescent:

"This image shows the tiny lunar crescent at the precise moment of the New Moon, in full daylight at 7h14min UTC on July 8 2013," says Legault. "It is the youngest possible crescent, the age of the Moon at this instant being exactly zero."

"From the shooting site in Elancourt, France, the angular separation between the Moon and the Sun was only 4.4° (nine solar diameters)," he continues. "At this very small separation, the crescent is extremely thin (a few arc seconds at maximum) and, above all, it is drowned in the solar glare, the blue sky being about 400 times brighter than the crescent itself in infrared and probably more than 1000 times brighter in visible light. In order to reduce the glare, the images have been taken at near-infrared wavelengths using a pierced screen placed just in front of the telescope to block direct sunlight."

Legault's photo may have theological as well as astronomical significance. In the Muslim world, the New Moon of July 8th and the sighting of the first crescent afterward sets the stage for the beginning of Ramadan 2013.

Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery

SOUTHERN LIGHTS: On July 6-7, Earth passed through a region of interplanetary space with a south-pointing magnetic field. The encounter opened a crack in Earth's magnetosphere, allowing solar wind to flow inside. The resulting auroras were best seen in the wintry-dark skies of the southern hemisphere:

"These were the biggest auroras so far this year," says photographer Taichi Nakamura of Dunedin, New Zealand. "I rushed my 2 year old son and wife to finish their dinner, and I am glad I did. They enjoyed the show! It helped that the night was warmer than usual, not going under 0 degrees Celsius. I myself became so excited that I took more than 2500 shots."

More auroras could be in the offing. A slow-moving CME expelled from the sun on July 6th is expected to hit Earth's magnetic field on July 10th. Minor geomagnetic storms are possible when the CME arrives. Aurora alerts: text, voice.

Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery

SPACE WEATHER BALLOON CLIFFHANGER: On July 2nd a recovery team reached the payload of a space weather balloon launched on June 30th. It was the second attempt to retrieve the balloon from its mountainous landing site in the Sierra Nevada mountains of central California. The first attempt late on July 1st was aborted due to challenging terrain and fading sunlight. This time, the team started earlier and in the full light of midday they found the landing site. It turned out to be a cliffhanger:

As shown above, the payload was dangling from a shear cliff face more than 1400 feet above the foot of the Nevahbe Ridge. Super-climber Michael White, a member of the Earth to Sky Calculus student group that launched the balloon, was able to reach the landing site and snag the payload from the safety of a small ledge just above the parachute. The shoe in the photo belongs to Michael.

This balloon was launched at the peak of a record-setting heat wave in the southwestern USA, bringing temperatures as high as 128 F to desert areas around the launch site. The goal of the curiosity-driven flight was to discover whether the heat wave extended all the up to the Edge of Space. To help answer the question, the balloon's payload was outfitted with two HD video cameras, a pair of GPS trackers, a GPS altimeter, a cryogenic thermometer and an ozone sensor.

Students are analyzing the footage and data now. Stay tuned for results!

Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery


Realtime Noctilucent Cloud Photo Gallery
[previous years: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011]


Realtime Comet Photo Gallery

  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 9, 2013 there were potentially hazardous asteroids.
Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Size
2013 NH4
Jul 6
4.3 LD
30 m
2013 NJ4
Jul 7
3.9 LD
14 m
2001 PJ9
Jul 17
29.2 LD
1.1 km
2006 BL8
Jul 26
9.3 LD
48 m
2003 DZ15
Jul 29
7.6 LD
153 m
2005 WK4
Aug 9
8.1 LD
420 m
1999 CF9
Aug 23
24.7 LD
1.1 km
2002 JR9
Aug 31
63.5 LD
1.4 km
1992 SL
Sep 23
70 LD
1.1 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
Space Weather Alerts
   
  more links...
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