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Solar wind
speed: 365.9 km/sec
density: 11.7 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2046 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: X1
1746 UT Sep10
24-hr: X1
1746 UT Sep10
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2000 UT
Daily Sun: 10 Sept 14
Sunspots AR2157 and AR2158 have delta-class magnetic fields that harbor energy for X-class solar flares. Credit: SDO/HMI
Sunspot number: 162
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 10 Sep 2014

Spotless Days
Current Stretch: 0 days
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%)

Update 10
Sep 2014

The Radio Sun
10.7 cm flux: 159 sfu
explanation | more data
Updated 10 Sep 2014

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: 7.6 nT
Bz: 3.4 nT north
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2047 UT
Coronal Holes: 10 Sep 14
There are no large coronal holes on the Earthside of the sun. Credit: SDO/AIA.

Spaceweather.com posts 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: 09-02-2014 12:55:12
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts
Updated at: 2014 Sep 09 2200 UTC
FLARE
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
CLASS M
75 %
75 %
CLASS X
30 %
30 %
Geomagnetic Storms:
Probabilities for significant disturbances in Earth's magnetic field are given for three activity levels: active, minor storm, severe storm
Updated at: 2014 Sep 09 2200 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
15 %
10 %
MINOR
01 %
05 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %
High latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
15 %
15 %
MINOR
25 %
20 %
SEVERE
20 %
20 %
 
Wednesday, Sep. 10, 2014
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

X-FLARE: Earth-orbiting satellites have just detected a powerful X1.6-class solar flare (Sept. 10 @ 17:46 UT). The source was active sunspot AR2158, which is directly facing Earth. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the extreme ultraviolet flash:

Ionizing radiation from the flare could cause HF radio blackouts and other communications disturbances, especially on the day-lit side of Earth. In the next few hours, when coronagraph data from SOHO and STEREO become available, we will see if a CME emerges from the blast site. If so, the cloud would likely be aimed directly at Earth and could reach our planet in 2 to 3 days. Stay tuned for updates about geomagnetic storms in the offing. Aurora alerts: text, voice

Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery

UPDATED STORM FORECAST: NOAA forecasters have issued a geomagnetic storm warning for Sept. 12th when a CME launched on Sept. 9th (see below) is expected to deliver a glancing but potent blow to Earth's magnetic field. The storm could reach moderate intensity (G2-class) with auroras visible across northern-tier US states such as Maine, Michigan, and Minnnesota. Another CME could be following close on its heels if today's X-flare also launched a cloud in our direction. It all adds up to a high probability of geomagnetic storms in the days ahead. Aurora alerts: text, voice

LONG DURATION FLARE AND EARTH-DIRECTED CME: Yesterday, the magnetic canopy of sunspot AR2158 erupted, producing an explosion that lasted more than 6 hours. The flare peaked on Sept. 9th at 00:30 UT with a classification of M4 on the Richter Scale of Solar Flares. Long-duration flares tend to produce bright CMEs, and this one was no exception. Coronagraphs onboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory observed a CME racing out of the blast site at nearly 1,000 km/s (2.2 million mph):

Most of the storm cloud is heading north of the sun-Earth line, but not all. A fraction of the CME will deliver a glancing blow to Earth's magnetic field during the early hours of Sept. 12th. In the past few weeks, glancing blows from minor CMEs have sparked beautiful auroras around the Arctic Circle. This CME could spark even better displays. NOAA forecasters estimate a 79% (not a typo: 79%) chance of polar geomagnetic storming on Sept. 12th. Aurora alerts: text, voice

Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery

ISS-SUNSPOT CONJUNCTION: Yesterday a dark winged form flew across the face of the sun. It was the International Space Staton (ISS) having a close encounter with active sunspot AR2158:

Enrico Finotto recorded the transit from Venice, Italy. "I took the picture using a Canon 600D set at ISO 400 and a solar-filtered Vixen 102FL refractor," he says.

Orbiting Earth at 17,000 mph, the space station crossed the face of the sun in just a fraction of a second. Finotto knew precisely when to take the picture thanks to a prediction from Calsky.com. "They are always accurate," says Finotto.

The sunspot pictured alongside the ISS in Finotto's photo, AR2158, has a "beta-gamma-delta" magnetic field that harbors energy for strong eruptions. NOAA forecasters estimate a 75% chance of M-class flares and a 30% chance of X-flares on Sept. 10th. Solar flare alerts: text, voice

Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery


Realtime Sprite Photo Gallery


Realtime Comet Photo Gallery


Realtime NLC 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 Sep. 10, 2014, the network reported 19 fireballs.
(16 sporadics, 3 September epsilon Perseids)

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 September 10, 2014 there were 1500 potentially hazardous asteroids.
Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Size
2014 QT295
Sep 5
6.7 LD
28 m
2014 RC
Sep 7
0.1 LD
19 m
2014 RJ11
Sep 8
3 LD
15 m
2013 RZ53
Sep 9
1.9 LD
3 m
2002 CE26
Sep 9
47.9 LD
1.8 km
2009 RR
Sep 16
2 LD
34 m
2006 GQ2
Sep 19
65.9 LD
1.1 km
2009 FG19
Sep 26
34.6 LD
1.1 km
2014 NE52
Sep 30
61.2 LD
1.1 km
2001 EA16
Oct 7
35.5 LD
1.9 km
2011 TB4
Oct 9
5.8 LD
34 m
2003 UC20
Oct 31
52.4 LD
1.0 km
2004 JN13
Nov 18
52.4 LD
4.1 km
1998 SS49
Nov 18
73.9 LD
3.2 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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