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Solar wind
speed: 501.5 km/sec
density: 6.9 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2347 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: C1
2028 UT Jun20
24-hr: C1
0920 UT Jun20
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2300 UT
Daily Sun: 20 Jun 13
Sunspot AR1775 poses a growing threat for M-class solar flares. Credit: SDO/HMI
Sunspot number: 126
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 20 Jun 2013

Spotless Days
Current Stretch: 0 days
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%)
Since 2004: 821 days
Typical Solar Min: 486 days

Update
20 Jun 2013

The Radio Sun
10.7 cm flux: 123 sfu
explanation | more data
Updated 20 Jun 2013

Current Auroral Oval:
Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/POES
Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 4 unsettled
24-hr max: Kp= 4
unsettled
explanation | more data
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 11.2 nT
Bz: 5.9 nT south
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2347 UT
Coronal Holes: 20 Jun 13
Solar wind flowing from this coronal hole could brush against Earth's magnetic field on June 22-24. Credit: SDO/AIA.

NEW: Spaceweather.com is now posting 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: 06-20-2013 13:55:02
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts
Updated at: 2013 Jun 20 2200 UTC
FLARE
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
CLASS M
30 %
30 %
CLASS X
05 %
05 %
Geomagnetic Storms:
Probabilities for significant disturbances in Earth's magnetic field are given for three activity levels: active, minor storm, severe storm
Updated at: 2013 Jun 20 2200 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
45 %
30 %
MINOR
25 %
10 %
SEVERE
05 %
01 %
High latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
05 %
15 %
MINOR
25 %
25 %
SEVERE
70 %
40 %
 
Thursday, Jun. 20, 2013
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

MIDSUMMER'S NIGHT: Tonight, June 20-21, is shortest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. The northern summer solstice is at 1:04 a.m. on the 21st EDT and 10:04 p.m. on the 20th PDT.

EMERGING ACTIVE REGION: For the past few days, a sunspot group on the farside of the sun has been crackling with flares and propelling CMEs into space. Now, this still-unnumbered active region moving onto the Earthside of the sun. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory caught it coming over the eastern limb on June 20th (circled):

By week's end, the emerging sunspot will reveal itself fully to telescopes on Earth. If it has a complex magnetic field that harbors energy for strong eruptions, Earth-directed flares could be in the offing.

Meanwhile, big sunspot AR1775 already poses a threat for Earth-directed flares. It has a 'beta-delta' class magnetic field that poses a threat for M-class eruptions. NOAA forecasters estimate a 30% chance of M-flares on June 20-21. Solar flare alerts: text, voice.

Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery

SIX MONTHS IN A BEER CAN: The summer solstice is coming, and in the Netherlands that means it's time to open up the beer cans around the Philippus Lansbergen Observatory in Middleberg. It's not what you think! There's no beer inside, only photo paper. Every year, astronomers at the observatory help members of the public make beer-can solargraphs to record the motion of the sun across the sky. Yesterday, after six months in the field, the solargraphs were opened, and this is what they revealed:

"This shows the movement of the Sun with 1 single shot of 6 months exposure time," explains Jan Koeman of the Philippus Lansbergen Observatory. "We deployed the beer-can solargraphs in December and opened them yesterday."

The lowest arcs were traced by the winter sun of Dec. 2012. The highest arc was made by the sun yesterday on the eve of the 2013 summer solstice. Occasional gaps are caused by clouds.

"It seems the sun has been shining a lot the last 6 months," notes Koeman. "This does not match with the general view of cloudy weather in the Netherlands!"

6-month Solargraph How-to Guides: #1, #2, #3

SPACE WEATHER BALLOON LAUNCH: On June14th high school students in Bishop, California, launched their seventh "space weather balloon." Its mission: To investigate the effect of solar flares and radiation storms on Earth's ozone layer. The group's mentor, Dr. Tony Phillips, photographed the balloon moments before liftoff from their "Edge of Space Port" in the Sierra Nevada mountains:

The balloon's payload carried two cameras, an ozone sensor, a cryogenic thermometer, and a GPS altimeter to an altitude of 110,000 feet above Earth's surface. All of the payload's core space weather instrumentation was built by the students themselves. After the balloon popped, as planned, the payload parachuted back to Earth, landing near the ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest in California's White Mountains. A recovery team has already retrieved the payload, and students are inspecting the data now.

The students launched the balloon on June 14th, a period of low solar activity, because they wanted to compare quiet sun data with a similar data set they collected on May 22nd during a strong solar radiation storm. Stay tuned for their results!

Sponsor a space weather balloon: Would you like to sponsor a flight? The students, who call themselves Earth to Sky Calculus, offer a service for sponsors called "Edge of Space Advertising." During the "ozone flight" on June 14th they flew an ad for Interpret America (flight photo), which paid for the helium in the balloon. The students have also flown banners, cards, cows, running shoes, presidents and other items. If there's something you'd like to fly, please contact Dr. Tony Phillips for rates and details.


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


Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery


Realtime Comet Photo Gallery

  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 June 20, 2013 there were potentially hazardous asteroids.
Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Size
1999 WC2
Jun 12
39.2 LD
1.9 km
2006 RO36
Jun 18
70.9 LD
1.2 km
2001 PJ9
Jul 17
29.2 LD
1.1 km
2006 BL8
Jul 26
9.3 LD
48 m
2003 DZ15
Jul 29
7.6 LD
153 m
2005 WK4
Aug 9
8.1 LD
420 m
1999 CF9
Aug 23
24.7 LD
1.1 km
2002 JR9
Aug 31
63.5 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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