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Solar wind
speed: 404.0 km/sec
density: 2.9 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2346 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: C3
1917 UT May11
24-hr: C6
0443 UT May11
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2258 UT
Daily Sun: 11 May 14
Sunspots AR2055, AR2056 and AR2058 have 'beta-gamma' magnetic fields that harbor energy for M-class solar flares. Credit: SDO/HMI
Sunspot number: 125
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 11 May 2014

Spotless Days
Current Stretch: 0 days
2014 total: 0 days (0%)
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
11 May 2014

The Radio Sun
10.7 cm flux: 152 sfu
explanation | more data
Updated 11 May 2014

Current Auroral Oval:
Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/POES
Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 2 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 4
unsettled
explanation | more data
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 6.6 nT
Bz: 3.1 nT north
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2346 UT
Coronal Holes: 10 May 14
Solar wind flowing from this southern coronal hole is brushing past Earth's magnetic field today. 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: 02-28-2014 16:55:02
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts
Updated at: 2014 May 11 2200 UTC
FLARE
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
CLASS M
50 %
50 %
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: 2014 May 11 2200 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
10 %
05 %
MINOR
01 %
01 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %
High latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
20 %
15 %
MINOR
20 %
15 %
SEVERE
10 %
05 %
 
Sunday, May. 11, 2014
What's up in space
 

Did you miss the lunar eclipse? No problem. The Coca-Cola Science Center recorded it for you. Click here to play the movie.

 
2014 Lunar Eclipse Live

GEOMAGNETIC UNREST: Earth's magnetic field is slightly unsettled as our planet passes through the outskirts of a solar wind stream. NOAA forecasters estimate a 20% chance of geomagnetic storms as night falls on Mother's Day. Aurora alerts: text, voice

MOTHER'S DAY CMEs MISS EARTH: A pair of bright coronal mass ejections (CMEs) billowed away from the eastern limb of the sun on May 11th, Mother's Day in the USA. The Solar and Heliospherc Observatory recorded the blasts:

Both CMEs were propelled from the sun by unstable filaments of magnetism, which erupted in quick succession during the early hours of May 11th. The filament associated with CME#2 was connected to growing sunspot AR2058. This sunspot is turning toward Earth and could pose a threat for geoeffective eruptions in the days ahead. The CMEs of Mother's Day, however, should completely miss our planet. Solar flare alerts: text, voice

Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery

WILD SWx BALLOON LAUNCH: Yesterday, May 10th, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus sent another space weather balloon to the stratosphere. The launch occurred in windy weather, which made the inflated balloon unusually difficult to control. In this video, listen to the reaction of the students as the balloon barely clears the roof of a house next-door to the launch site:

In addition to its usual sensors for temperature, altitude, and cosmic radiation, the payload carried four colonies of halobacteria. The students are exposing these bacteria to Mars-like conditions at the edge of space in a continuing series of experiments to find out if terrestrial extremophiles could live on other planets. Stay tuned for updates. So far so good: They survived the launch! Stay tuned for updates after the payload is recovered.

Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery


Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery


Realtime Mars Photo Gallery


Realtime Comet 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 May. 11, 2014, the network reported 9 fireballs.
(7 sporadics, 2 eta Aquariids)

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 May 11, 2014 there were potentially hazardous asteroids.
Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Size
2014 HT178
May 8
5.9 LD
21 m
2014 JD
May 9
7.7 LD
24 m
2014 JG55
May 10
0.3 LD
7 m
2014 JH15
May 17
8 LD
59 m
2010 JO33
May 17
4 LD
43 m
2005 UK1
May 20
36.7 LD
1.1 km
1997 WS22
May 21
47.1 LD
1.5 km
2002 JC
May 24
48.7 LD
1.4 km
2014 HQ124
Jun 8
3.2 LD
615 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 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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