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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: 430.3 km/sec
density: 1.9 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2345 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: A0
2340 UT Feb24
24-hr: A0
2340 UT Feb24
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2340 UT
Daily Sun: 24 Feb 09
A new sunspot is forming at the circled location. The spot's high latitude and magnetic polarity identify it as a member of Solar Cycle 24. Credit: SOHO/MDI

more images: from Erika Rix of Zanesville, Ohio; from Howard Eskildsen of West Summerland Key, Florida;
Sunspot number: 0
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 24 Feb. 2009
Far side of the Sun:
This holographic image reveals no sunspots on the far side of the sun. Image credit: SOHO/MDI
Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 0 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 3
quiet
explanation | more data
Current Auroral Oval:
Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/POES
What is the auroral oval?
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 4.4 nT
Bz: 4.1 nT south
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2346 UT
Coronal Holes:
There are no large coronal holes on the Earth-facing side of the sun. Credit: SOHO Extreme UV Telescope
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts
Updated at: 2009 Feb 24 2201 UTC
FLARE
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
CLASS M
01 %
01 %
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: 2009 Feb 24 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
10 %
10 %
MINOR
01 %
01 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %
What's up in Space
February 24, 2009

AURORA ALERT: Did you sleep through the Northern Lights? Next time get a wake-up call: Spaceweather PHONE.

 

NEW SUNSPOT: The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) is monitoring a sunspot now forming in the sun's northern hemisphere. The spot's high latitude and magnetic polarity identify it as a member of new Solar Cycle 24. Readers, if you have a solar telescope, now is the time to watch sunspot genesis in action.

COMET LULIN AT ITS BEST: Today, Feb. 24th, Comet Lulin is making its closest approach to Earth. The speedy green comet is about 38 million miles away and a fine target for backyard telescopes. In fact, the comet is so bright, around 5th magnitude, a camera may be all the optics you need. Consider this photo of Comet Lulin passing by Saturn last night:

Joe Wheeler of Fort Davis, Texas, took the picture using a Canon XSi. "I mounted the camera on the back of a 16-inch telescope at the McDonald Observatory and opened the shutter for a two-minute exposure." The telescope tracked the stars and the camera did the rest. "Look between Saturn and the comet," points out Wheeler. "I think I caught a tumbling satellite."

The next 24 hours could be an interesting time for Comet Lulin. The comet is going to line up almost perfectly with the Sun and Earth as follows: Sun-Earth-Lulin. This could make the dust in the comet's tail briefly but significantly increase in brightness--a phenomenon astronomers call "the opposition effect." So don't stop watching; the best may be yet to come. Feb. 25th sky map.

UPDATED: Comet Lulin Photo Gallery
[Comet Hunter Telescope] [Sky maps: Feb. 22, 23, 24, 25]

NEW ZEALAND SUNDOGS: Sundogs normally travel in pairs, but on Feb. 20th, Graham Palmer of Hastings, New Zealand, came upon a larger pack:


Photo details: Canon 40D, ISO 100, 1/250th second, 15mm fisheye lens

"I went for a walk in the park to catch two nice sundogs, but was surprised to see a third," says Palmer, who recorded the gathering using his Canon 40D.

Sundogs (the ones in the sky) are caused by sunlight shining through ice crystals in high clouds. Even during a warm New Zealand summer, these crystals are present; it's always freezing cold 5 to 10 km above the ground where cirrus clouds float in front of the sun.

So, no matter where you live, no matter what the season, be alert for sundogs, furry and icy. You might find more than you bargained for....

more images: from Rob Kleeman of Niles, Illinois; from Ken Scott on the shore of Lake Michigan; from Andrew Shaidurov at the Bukovel ski resort in the Ukraine; from Cheryl Heassig of Waukesha, Wisconsin; from Monika Landy-Gyebnar of Veszprem, Hungary


February 2009 Aurora Gallery
[Previous Februaries: 2008, 2007, 2006, 2004, 2003, 2002]


Explore the Sunspot Cycle

       
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 February 24, 2009 there were 1029 potentially hazardous asteroids.
Feb. 2009 Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Mag.
Size
2009 BK58
Feb. 2
1.7 LD
17
30 m
2009 BG81
Feb. 2
4.4 LD
19
12 m
2009 CC2
Feb. 2
0.5 LD
17
12 m
2009 BW2
Feb. 5
8.4 LD
20
40 m
2009 CP
Feb. 8
7.7 LD
19
20 m
2009 BE58
Feb. 10
8.6 LD
16
225 m
2006 AS2
Feb. 10
9.2 LD
15
370 m
2009 BL58
Feb. 11
4.8 LD
17
55 m
1999 AQ10
Feb. 18
4.4 LD
13
390 m
2009 CV
Feb. 23
4.8 LD
18
62 m
2009 DU10
Feb. 24
2.3 LD
16
18 m
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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