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Solar wind
speed: 432.4 km/sec
density: 1.1 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2346 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: B8
1811 UT Jan15
24-hr: B9
0712 UT Jan15
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2300 UT
Daily Sun: 15 Jan 14
Departing sunspot AR1944 poses a waning threat for M-class solar flares, not Earth-directed. Credit: SDO/HMI
Sunspot number: 95
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 15 Jan 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
15 Jan 2014

The Radio Sun
10.7 cm flux: 137 sfu
explanation | more data
Updated 15 Jan 2014

Current Auroral Oval:
Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/POES
Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 1 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 2
quiet
explanation | more data
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 2.3 nT
Bz: 0.5 nT south
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2347 UT
Coronal Holes: 15 Jan 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: 01-13-2014 18:55:02
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts
Updated at: 2014 Jan 15 2200 UTC
FLARE
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
CLASS M
05 %
05 %
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: 2014 Jan 15 2200 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
05 %
25 %
MINOR
01 %
10 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %
High latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
15 %
15 %
MINOR
15 %
25 %
SEVERE
05 %
35 %
 
Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014
What's up in space
 

Listen to radar echoes from satellites and meteors, live on listener-supported Space Weather Radio.

 
Spaceweather Radio is on the air

COUNTDOWN TO PLUTO: NASA's New Horizons spacecraft is closing in on Pluto. Officials say the encounter begins less than a year from now. Although Pluto has been demoted from planethood by a small group of professional astronomers, it is still a sizable world, some 5000 miles around the equator with a system of moons and perhaps even rings. New Horizons is heading for one of the most exciting planetary flybys of the Space Age. Get the full story and a video from Science@NASA.

SMALLEST FULL MOON OF THE YEAR: Can you see the difference? Tonight's full Moon is the smallest full Moon of the year--an "apogee moon," as much as 14% smaller and 30% dimmer than other full Moons of 2014. Such a reduced full Moon still produces a lot of light, as shown in this photo taken on Apogee's Eve (Jan. 14) by Neil Winston of Lusby, Maryland:

"Fog rolled in as the temperature dropped after some rainfall," says Winston. "The bright moon cast distinct rays of light through gaps in the trees."

Full Moons vary in size and brightness because of the oval shape of the Moon's orbit. The Moon follows an elliptical path around Earth with one side ("apogee") about 50,000 km farther than the other ("perigee"). Big full Moons on the perigee side of the Moon's orbit are sometimes called "Supermoons." That would make tonight's full Moon an "anti-Supermoon"--or perhaps, "kryptonite."

Step outside after sunset and take a look. Backyard astronomy alerts: text, voice.

Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery

LIGHT PILLARS: Winter is unfolding around the northern hemisphere. As temperatures drop, pillars of light are springing up from ground. Janis Satrovskis of Valmiera, Latvia, photographed this specimen on Jan. 14th:

Light pillars are a common sight around northern cities in winter. Urban lights bounce off ice crystals in the air, producing tall luminous columns sometimes mistaken for auroras. Usually the ice crystals are natural, such as snow flakes, but in this case the atmospheric optics were artificial.

"The amazing phenomenon was created by snow blowing machines," explains Satrovskis. "These are our first days with temperatures below zero and ski resorts are making snow. A slight breeze carried manmade snow over the city, creating a spectacular view."

Light pillars are springing up in cold cities around the world. Is yours one of them? Browse the gallery for the latest sightings.

Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery


Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery


Realtime Venus 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 Jan. 15, 2014, the network reported 6 fireballs.
(6 sporadics)

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]

On Jan. 14, 2014, the network reported 12 fireballs.
(12 sporadics)

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 January 15, 2014 there were potentially hazardous asteroids.
Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Size
2014 AW32
Jan 10
0.5 LD
14 m
2014 AZ32
Jan 11
6.2 LD
28 m
2014 AE51
Jan 14
6.1 LD
34 m
2007 SJ
Jan 21
18.9 LD
1.9 km
2012 BX34
Jan 28
9.6 LD
13 m
2006 DP14
Feb 10
6.2 LD
730 m
2000 EM26
Feb 18
8.8 LD
195 m
2000 EE14
Mar 6
64.6 LD
1.8 km
2003 QQ47
Mar 26
49.9 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
Space Weather Alerts
   
  more links...
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