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Solar wind
speed: 558.9 km/sec
density: 2.4 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2347 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: B8
1808 UT Mar24
24-hr: C1
0554 UT Mar24
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2300 UT
Daily Sun: 24 Mar 15
Sunspot AR2305 has a 'beta-gamma' magnetic field that harbors energy for M-class solar flares. However, the sunspot is quiet and solar activity is low. Credit: SDO/HMI

Sunspot number: 119
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 24 Mar 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 24 Mar 2015


The Radio Sun
10.7 cm flux: 128 sfu
explanation | more data
Updated 24 Mar 2015

Current Auroral Oval:
Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/Ovation
Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 2 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 4
unsettled
explanation | more data
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 5.5 nT
Bz: 4.8 nT north
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2348 UT
Coronal Holes: 24 Mar 15

There are no large equatorial coronal holes on the Earthside of the sun. Credit: SDO/AIA.
Noctilucent Clouds The southern season for NLCs has come to an end. The last clouds were observed by NASA's AIM spacecraft on Feb. 20, 2015. Now attention shifts to the northern hemisphere, where the first clouds of 2015 should appear in mid-May.
Switch view: Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctic Penninsula, East Antarctica, Polar
Updated at: 02-28-2015 02:55:03
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts
Updated at: 2015 Mar 24 2200 UTC
FLARE
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
CLASS M
25 %
25 %
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: 2015 Mar 24 2200 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
15 %
15 %
MINOR
01 %
01 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %
High latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
15 %
15 %
MINOR
25 %
25 %
SEVERE
20 %
20 %
 
Tuesday, Mar. 24, 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.

 
Lapland tours

MOSTLY QUIET WITH A CHANCE OF FLARES: The sunspot number is high, but solar activity is low. Not one of the sunspots on the Earthside of the sun is crackling with flares. NOAA forecasters estimate a 15% chance of M-class flares and no more than a 1% chance of X-flares on March 24th. Solar flare alerts: text, voice

SOLAR WIND SPARKS AURORAS: For the 6th day in a row, a high-speed solar wind stream is buffeting Earth's magnetic field. Intermittent geomagnetic storming around the Arctic Circle has sparked some beautiful auroras--like these, observed last night over Sortland, Norway:

"We had some nasty weather in Sortland last night," says photographer . "It was not so very cold, about-3 C degrees, but a chilly gale-force wind chased me into every corner where I tried to hide. I had to keep a firm hand on my tripod to prevent the camera from shaking. An outburst hit us about 10 pm local time with very rapid and powerful auroras. Who cares if it is a little cold?!"

More auroras are in the offing. NOAA forecasters estimate a 60% chance of geomagnetic storms on March 24th as the solar wind continues to blow. Aurora alerts: text, voice

Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery

INSIDE THE SHADOW OF THE MOON: Warning: The movie you are about to see could turn you into an eclipse-chaser. Last Friday, March 20th, the Moon passed directly in front of the sun, producing a total eclipse over the Arctic Ocean. For almost three minutes, the cool shadow of the Moon fell on Svalbard, also known as "the island of polar bears" because of its large population of Ursus maritimus. Nick James, who became an eclipse-chaser long ago, was in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, for the event, and he made this movie:

"This eclipse was one of my best," says James. "The weather was perfect and the corona was amazing in a very transparent deep blue sky. There were interesting prominences and dramatic shadow bands--both of which are shown in the movie. At totality, the temperature dropped below -20 C, which was a challenge for both the photographer and his cameras!"

For more anecdotes from the eclipse, monitor Spaceweather.com's realtime photo gallery:

Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery


Realtime Comet 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 Mar. 24, 2015, the network reported 19 fireballs.
(19 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 March 24, 2015 there were potentially hazardous asteroids.
Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Size
2015 FM
Mar 23
6.1 LD
26 m
2015 FW33
Mar 23
9.5 LD
29 m
2015 FO34
Mar 23
6.4 LD
13 m
2015 FN34
Mar 25
8 LD
20 m
2015 FC
Mar 26
2.9 LD
20 m
2015 FP
Mar 28
9.6 LD
41 m
2015 FF36
Mar 28
3.5 LD
23 m
2015 FN33
Apr 6
9.8 LD
25 m
2063 Bacchus
Apr 7
76 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
Space Weather Alerts
   
  more links...
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