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Solar wind
speed: 590.3 km/sec
density: 1.1 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2352 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: B7
1719 UT Jun23
24-hr: M6
1823 UT Jun 22
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2300 UT
Daily Sun: 23 Jun 15
Sunspot AR2371 has a 'beta-gamma-delta' magnetic field that harbors energy for X-class solar flares. Credit: SDO/HMI

Sunspot number: 77
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 23 Jun 2015

Spotless Days
Current Stretch: 0 days
2015 total: 0 days (0%)

2014 total: 1 day (<1%)
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%)

Updated 23 Jun 2015


The Radio Sun
10.7 cm flux: 135 sfu
explanation | more data
Updated 23 Jun 2015

Current Auroral Oval:
Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/Ovation
Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 4 unsettled
24-hr max: Kp= 8
severe
explanation | more data
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 8.2 nT
Bz: 2.4 nT south
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2352 UT
Coronal Holes: 23 Jun 15

Solar wind flowing from the indicated coronal hole should reach Earth on June 27-28. Credit: SDO/AIA.
Noctilucent Clouds The northern season for NLCs is underway. NASA's AIM spacecraft spotted the first noctilucent clouds over the Arctic Circle on May 19th.
Switch view: Europe, USA, Asia, Polar
Updated at: 06-23-2015 19:55:06
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts
Updated at: 2015 Jun 23 2200 UTC
FLARE
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
CLASS M
75 %
75 %
CLASS X
20 %
20 %
Geomagnetic Storms:
Probabilities for significant disturbances in Earth's magnetic field are given for three activity levels: active, minor storm, severe storm
Updated at: 2015 Jun 23 2200 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
30 %
20 %
MINOR
40 %
35 %
SEVERE
25 %
40 %
High latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
05 %
05 %
MINOR
15 %
15 %
SEVERE
79 %
85 %
 
Tuesday, Jun. 23, 2015
What's up in space
 

Learn to photograph Northern Lights like a pro. Sign up for Peter Rosen's Aurora Photo Courses in Abisko National Park, winner of the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence Award 2015.

 
Lapland tours

SOLSTICE GEOMAGNETIC STORM: A series of CMEs hit Earth's magnetic field on June 22nd, producing a severe G4-class geomagnetic storm. Northern Lights spilled across the Canadian border into more than a dozen US states, including places as far south as Colorado, Georgia, Virginia and Arkansas. "The auroras did not disappoint," says Chris Cook, who witnessed the display from Cape Cod, Massachusetts:

"They were visible in deep twilight!" he adds. "I positioned myself on a beach overlooking Cape Cod Bay so I could capture the reflection in the water at low tide."

More auroras are in the offing as Earth's magnetic field reverberates from the CME strikes. NOAA forecasters estimate a 90% chance of polar geomagnetic storms on June 23rd, subsiding only a little to 70% on June 24th. Aurora alerts: text, voice

Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery

MEANWHILE ... ANOTHER CME IS ON THE WAY: Big sunspot AR2371 erupted again on June 22nd (18:23 UT), producing a strong M6.5 class solar flare. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the extreme ultraviolet flash:

X-ray and UV radiation from the flare ionized the upper layers of Earth's atmosphere, causing a blackout of some shortwave radio signals over North America (blackout map). Mariners and ham radio operators, in particular, may have noticed disturbances at frequencies below ~20 MHz.

The explosion also hurled a full-halo CME directly toward Earth: movie. NOAA analysts are still modeling the storm cloud to estimate its likely time of arrival. Best guess: June 24th. Sky watchers should prepare for more geomagnetic stoms and auroras on Wednesday night. Solar flare alerts: text, voice

Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery

NEUTRONS IN THE STRATOSPHERE: For nearly two years, Spaceweather.com and the students of Earth to Sky Calculus have been using helium balloons to monitor X-rays and gamma-rays in the stratosphere. Their successful program has detected multiple radiation events in response to solar storms. On June 18th they added something new. For the first time, the group's Space Weather Payload included a bubble chamber for measuring neutrons. The device flew 109,012 feet above California's Sierra Nevada mountain range, then parachuted back to Earth, landing near Death Valley National Park. The results: Neutrons were detected.

Circled above are some of the bubbles that formed as neutrons passed through the chamber. By counting the bubbles, it is possible to estimate the total dose of neutron radiation absorbed during the 3 hour flight. The answer is 600 microRads (energy range 200 keV - 15 MeV). Interestingly, this is almost the same dose detected by onboard X-ray and gamma-ray sensors: 620 microRads (energy range 10 keV to 20 MeV). Lesson: if you only count X-rays and gamma-rays, then you are missing at least half of the radiation in the atmosphere. Neutrons matter, too.

Indeed, neutrons are a very important form of cosmic radiation, providing much of the biologically effective radiation dose at altitudes of interest to aviation and space tourism.  Low-energy neutrons also cause single-event upsets in aircraft avionics, especially devices that contain Boron 10. Adding a neutron sensor to the Space Weather Payload allows the students to monitor this type of radiation at altitudes ranging from ground level to 120,000 feet.


Realtime NLC Photo Gallery


Realtime Sprite 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 Jun. 23, 2015, the network reported 27 fireballs.
(27 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 June 23, 2015 there were 1592 potentially hazardous asteroids.
Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Size
2015 LQ21
Jun 18
13 LD
65 m
2015 LR21
Jun 20
2.5 LD
23 m
2015 KK57
Jun 23
8.3 LD
14 m
2015 MN11
Jun 24
12.5 LD
54 m
2015 MA54
Jun 25
6.8 LD
37 m
2005 VN5
Jul 7
12.6 LD
18 m
2015 HM10
Jul 7
1.1 LD
81 m
1994 AW1
Jul 15
25.3 LD
1.3 km
2011 UW158
Jul 19
6.4 LD
540 m
2013 BQ18
Jul 20
7.9 LD
38 m
1999 JD6
Jul 25
18.8 LD
1.6 km
2005 NZ6
Aug 6
76.5 LD
1.4 km
2005 JF21
Aug 16
20.1 LD
1.6 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
Columbia Northern High School
  Web-based high school science course with free enrollment
  more links...
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