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SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids
 
Solar wind
speed: 547.3 km/sec
density: 3.9 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2343 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: B6
2142 UT Aug14
24-hr: B9
1037 UT Aug14
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2300 UT
Daily Sun: 14 Aug 11
The Earthside of the sun is essentially blank--no sunspots. Credit: SDO/HMI
Sunspot number: 35
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 13 Aug 2011

Spotless Days
Current Stretch: 1 day
2011 total: 2 days (<1%)
2010 total: 51 days (14%)
2009 total: 260 days (71%)
Since 2004: 821 days
Typical Solar Min: 486 days

Updated 13 Aug 2011


The Radio Sun
10.7 cm flux: 83 sfu
explanation | more data
Updated 13 Aug 2011

Current Auroral Oval:
Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/POES
Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 2 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 2
quiet
explanation | more data
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 10.0 nT
Bz: 5.4 nT south
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2344 UT
Coronal Holes: 14 Aug 11
Solar wind flowing from the indicated coronal should reach Earth on Aug. 15-16. Credit: SDO/AIA.
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts
Updated at: 2011 Aug 14 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: 2011 Aug 14 2200 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
30 %
30 %
MINOR
10 %
10 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %
High latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
35 %
35 %
MINOR
15 %
15 %
SEVERE
05 %
05 %
 
Sunday, Aug. 14, 2011
What's up in space
 

They came from outer space--and you can have one! Genuine meteorites are now on sale in the Space Weather Store.

 
Own your own meteorite

PERSEID UPDATE: The Perseid meteor shower is subsiding. Counts reported by the International Meteor Organization suggest a peak on Aug. 13th of not much more than 60 to 80 meteors per hour. This makes it an off-year for the Perseids, which normally produces peak rates almost two times higher. This year's glaring full Moon sharply reduced visibility.

Moonlight was no problem for Stan Nelson of Roswell, New Mexico, who spent peak-night listening to the shower. Nelson monitors the US Air Force Space Surveillance Radar in Texas for echoes of meteors passing over the facility. He recorded this specimen ping at 9:30 am MDT on Aug. 13th:

"The Perseids held up nicely, radar-wise," comments Nelson.

more Perseid images: from Antonio Finazzi of Monte Avaro - Cusio (BG) - Italy;from Dan Bush of Albany, Missouri; from Brian Emfinger of Ozark, Arkansas; from Martin Popek of Nýdek, Czech republic; from P-M Hedén of Älmsta Sweden; from Darryl Reid of Canadian Badlands near Drumheller Alberta.

What sat was that? The hours before dawn are a great time to see satellites. There are hundreds in Earth orbit, and you're sure to spot some of them while you're watching the Perseids. Your Android phone can tell you which ones you're seeing: Download WhatSat.


August 2011 Aurora Gallery
[previous Augusts: 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002]


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

  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 August 14, 2011 there were 1241 potentially hazardous asteroids.
Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Mag.
Size
2011 PE2
Jul 30
3.5 LD
--
108 m
2011 OJ45
Aug 17
4.6 LD
--
28 m
2009 AV
Aug 22
49.7 LD
--
1.1 km
2003 QC10
Sep 18
50 LD
--
1.2 km
2004 SV55
Sep 19
67.5 LD
--
1.2 km
2007 TD
Sep 23
3.8 LD
--
58 m
2002 AG29
Oct 9
77.1 LD
--
1.0 km
2000 OJ8
Oct 13
49.8 LD
--
2.5 km
2009 TM8
Oct 17
1.1 LD
--
8 m
2011 FZ2
Nov 7
75.9 LD
--
1.6 km
2005 YU55
Nov 8
0.8 LD
--
175 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
Science Central
 
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