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SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids
SPACE WEATHER
Current conditions
Solar wind
speed: 384.9 km/sec
density: 2.9 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2346 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: B1
1825 UT Jul16
24-hr: B2
0145 UT Jul16
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2340 UT
Daily Sun: 16 Jul 10
Sunspot 1087 has a "beta-gamma" magnetic field that harbors energy for M-class solar flares. Credit: SOHO/MDI
Sunspot number: 15
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 15 July 2010

Spotless Days
Current Stretch: 0 days
2010 total: 35 days (18%)
2009 total: 260 days (71%)
Since 2004: 803 days
Typical Solar Min: 486 days
explanation | more info
Updated 15 July 2010


The Radio Sun
10.7 cm flux: 76 sfu
explanation | more data
Updated 15 July 2010

Current Auroral Oval:
Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/POES
Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 0 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 1
quiet
explanation | more data
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 2.0 nT
Bz: 1.9 nT north
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2347 UT
Coronal Holes:
There are no large coronal holes on the Earth-facing side of the sun. Credit: SDO/AIA
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts
Updated at: 2010 Jul 16 2201 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: 2010 Jul 16 2201 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
05 %
05 %
MINOR
01 %
01 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %
High latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
01 %
01 %
MINOR
01 %
01 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %
What's up in Space
July 16, 2010

ANDROID FLYBYS: Our field-tested satellite tracker is now available for Android phones. Features: Global predictions and flyby alarms! Learn more.

 

PUZZLING COLLAPSE OF THE THERMOSPHERE: Researchers are puzzling over a sharper-than-expected collapse of Earth's upper atmosphere during the deep solar minimum of 2008-09. "Something is going on that we do not understand," says John Emmert of the Naval Research Lab, lead author of a paper announcing the finding. Get the full story from Science@NASA.

DUCK-CLASS SOLAR FLARE: Sunspot 1087 has been crackling with low-level solar flares, so when Jo Dahlmans of
the Netherlands looked at the active region yesterday, he wasn't surprised to catch a C-class flare in mid-eruption:

He was very surprised, however, to find a duck! Click here and you will see it, too. "I took the picture using a 150mm refracting telescope and a Lunt solar filter," says Dahlmans. "AR1087 is so active, I can hardly keep up with processing all the data from my backyard observatory. The 'duck flare' was an unexpected bonus."

More action could be in the offing. Sunspot 1087 has a "beta-gamma" magnetic field that harbors energy for M-class solar flares. Readers with solar telescopes are enouraged to monitor developments.

more images: from John Minnerath of Crowheart, Wyoming; from Michael Buxton of Ocean Beach, California; from Philippe ROUCHEUX of Joigny Bourgogne, France; from Peter Desypris of Syros Greece

PARTIAL ECLIPSE, TOTAL BEAUTY: During a solar eclipse, you don't have to be in the path of totality for a beautiful view. Here's the proof:

Carlos Caccia took the picture on July 11th, a day when thousands of sky watchers watched a total eclipse from islands, atolls and cruise ships across the South Pacific ocean. Caccia wasn't there; he stayed home in Intendente Alvear, Argentina, where the Moon cut across the sun off-center, producing an eclipse that was merely partial. Caccia was not disappointed, though. "It was lovely," he says.

Browse the gallery for more examples.

UPDATED: Solar Eclipse Photo Gallery
[NASA: South Pacific Eclipse] [animated map] [details]

 
       
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 July 16, 2010 there were 1138 potentially hazardous asteroids.
July-Oct 2010 Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Mag.
Size
1999 JD6
Jul 27
53.9 LD
17
1.8 km
6239 Minos
Aug 10
38.3 LD
18
1.1 km
2005 NZ6
Aug 14
60.5 LD
18
1.3 km
2002 CY46
Sep 2
63.8 LD
16
2.4 km
2010 LY63
Sep 7
55.8 LD
18
1.3 km
2009 SH2
Sep 30
7.1 LD
25
45 m
1998 UO1
Oct 1
32.1 LD
17
2.1 km
2005 GE59
Oct 1
77 LD
18
1.1 km
2001 WN5
Oct 10
41.8 LD
18
1.0 km
1999 VO6
Oct 14
34.3 LD
17
1.8 km
1998 TU3
Oct 17
69.1 LD
15
5.3 km
1998 MQ
Oct 23
77.7 LD
17
2.0 km
2007 RU17
Oct 29
40.6 LD
18
1.0 km
2003 UV11
Oct 30
5 LD
19
595 m
3838 Epona
Nov 7
76.8 LD
16
3.4 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 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 and Heliospheric Observatory
  Realtime and archival images of the Sun from SOHO.
STEREO
  3D views of the sun from NASA's Solar and Terrestrial Relations Observatory
Daily Sunspot Summaries
  from the NOAA Space Environment Center
Current Solar Images
  from the National Solar Data Analysis Center
Science Central
   
  more links...
   
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