SPACE WEATHER Current Conditions Solar Wind velocity: 597.7 km/s density:2.5 protons/cm3 explanation | more data Updated: Today at 2245 UT X-ray Solar Flares 6-hr max: C8 2030 UT Sep15 24-hr: M3 2150 UT Sep14 explanation | more data Updated: Today at 2245 UT Daily Sun: 14 Sep '01 Active regions 9608, 9610 and 9616 have gamma-class magnetic fields that harbors energy for possible M-class flares. Image credit: SOHO/MDI The Far Side of the Sun This holographic image reveals a substantial sunspot on the far side of the Sun. It is probably active region 9591, which during the end of August unleashed a powerful X5-class solar flare. Image credit: SOHO/MDI Sunspot Number: 216 More about sunspots Updated: 14 Sep 2001 Radio Meteor Rate 24 hr max: 50 per hr Listen to the Meteor Radar! Updated: 14 Sep 2001 Interplanetary Mag. Field Btotal: 7.5 nT Bz: 0.8 nT north explanation | more data Updated: Today at 2246 UT Coronal Holes: A small coronal hole is crossing the Sun's central meridian. Solar wind gusts from the hole, if any, will likely arrive on Sept 16th. Image credit: Yohkoh Soft X-ray Telescope. More about coronal holes SPACE WEATHER NOAA Forecasts Solar Flares: Probabilities for a medium-sized (M-class) or a major (X-class) solar flare during the next 24/48 hours are tabulated below. Updated at 2001 Sep 15 2200 UT FLARE | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | CLASS M | 80 % | 80 % | CLASS X | 15 % | 15 % | Geomagnetic Storms: Probabilities for significant disturbances in Earth's magnetic field are given for three activity levels: active, minor storm, severe storm Updated at 2001 Sep 15 2200 UT Mid-latitudes | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | ACTIVE | 20 % | 20 % | MINOR | 15 % | 15 % | SEVERE | 05 % | 05 % | High latitudes | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | ACTIVE | 25 % | 25 % | MINOR | 15 % | 15 % | SEVERE | 05 % | 05 % | Web server provided by VPS Hosting | What's Up in Space -- 15 Sep 2001 Subscribe to Space Weather News! AURORA ALERT: A series of mild interplanetary shock waves and solar wind gusts buffeted Earth's magnetosphere on Thursday and Friday -- the result of several coronal mass ejections earlier this week. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for Northern Lights around local midnight. Right: Photographer Duane Clausen spotted these auroras over Menominee, Michigan, on Thursday morning, Sept. 13th. See more. ASTEROID CROSSING? Today a tiny near-Earth object (NEO) is slowly gliding by our planet about 16 times more distant than the Moon. Catalogued as 2001 FR85, the barely-visible (25th magnitude) NEO would be about 50 meters wide if it is indeed an asteroid. However, it's probably not a space rock at all. The orbit of this object is strangely like that of our own planet -- a near-circle 0.98 AU in radius. What is it? Perhaps a piece of rocket debris, a relic of the Apollo program or some other space mission. 2001 FR85 might be a cousin of 2000 SG344, which briefly caused a sensation last year. WEB LINKS: NOAA FORECAST | GLOSSARY | SPACE WEATHER TUTORIAL | LESSON PLANS | BECOME A SUBSCRIBER | 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 are on a collision course with our planet, although astronomers are finding new ones all the time. On 15 Sep 2001 there were 318 known Potentially Hazardous Asteroids Sep-Oct. 2001 Earth-asteroid encountersNotes: LD is a "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. - PERSEIDS 2001: Perseid watchers on August 12th spotted meteors, auroras, and a disintegrating Russian rocket! [gallery]
- MORNING PLANETS: In July and Aug. 2001, the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, and Mercury put on a dazzling early-morning sky show. [gallery]
- C/2001 A2 (LINEAR): This volatile comet is still visible through small telescopes as it recedes from Earth. [gallery]
- ECLIPSE SAFARI: Onlookers cried out in delight on June 21, 2001, when the Moon covered the African Sun, revealing the dazzling corona. [gallery]
- TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE: On Jan. 9, 2001, the full Moon glided through Earth's copper-colored shadow. [gallery]
- CHRISTMAS ECLIPSE: Sky watchers across North America enjoyed a partial solar eclipse on Christmas Day 2000 [gallery]
- LEONIDS 2000: Observers around the globe enjoyed three predicted episodes of shooting stars. [gallery]
July 27, 2001: Meteorites Don't Pop Corn -- A fireball that dazzled Americans on July 23rd probably didn't scorch any cornfields, contrary to widespread reports. June 12, 2001: The Biggest Explosions in the Solar System -- NASA's HESSI spacecraft aims to unravel an explosive mystery: the origin of solar flares. Feb. 21, 2001: Nature's Tiniest Space Junk -- Using an experimental radar, NASA scientists are monitoring tiny but hazardous meteoroids that swarm around our planet. Feb. 15, 2001: The Sun Does a Flip -- NASA scientists who monitor the Sun say our star's enormous magnetic field is reversing -- a sure sign that solar maximum is here. Jan. 25, 2001: Earth's Invisible Magnetic Tail -- NASA's IMAGE spacecraft, the first to enjoy a global view of the magnetosphere, spotted a curious plasma tail pointing from Earth toward the Sun. Jan. 4, 2001: Earth at Perihelion -- On January 4, 2001, our planet made its annual closest approach to the Sun. Dec. 29, 2000: Millennium Meteors -- North Americans will have a front-row seat for a brief but powerful meteor shower on January 3, 2001. Dec. 28, 2000: Galileo Looks for Auroras on Ganymede -- NASA's durable Galileo spacecraft flew above the solar system's largest moon this morning in search of extraterrestrial "Northern Lights" Dec. 22, 2000: Watching the Angry Sun -- Solar physicists are enjoying their best-ever look at a Solar Maximum thanks to NOAA and NASA satellites. MORE SPACE WEATHER HEADLINES |