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SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids
 
Solar wind
speed: 370.9 km/sec
density: 0.5 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2346 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: C1
1931 UT Sep24
24-hr: C1
1931 UT Sep24
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2259 UT
Daily Sun: 24 Sep 12
A new sunspot is emerging at the circled location. Sunspot 1575 poses a slight threat for M-class solar flares. Credit: SDO/HMI
Sunspot number: 57
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 24 Sep 2012

Spotless Days
Current Stretch: 0 days
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 24 Sep 2012


The Radio Sun
10.7 cm flux: 125 sfu
explanation | more data
Updated 24 Sep 2012

Current Auroral Oval:
Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/POES
Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 1 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 1
quiet
explanation | more data
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 3.3 nT
Bz: 0.9 nT south
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2347 UT
Coronal Holes: 24 Sep 12
There are no large coronal holes on the Earth side of the sun. Credit: SDO/AIA.
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts
Updated at: 2012 Sep 24 2200 UTC
FLARE
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
CLASS M
15 %
20 %
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: 2012 Sep 24 2200 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
15 %
15 %
MINOR
10 %
10 %
SEVERE
05 %
05 %
 
Monday, Sep. 24, 2012
What's up in space
 

Thirty-five new items have just been added to our Meteorite Jewelry collection. Browse the Space Weather Store for something out of this world.

 
Meteorite jewelry

SLIGHT CHANCE OF FLARES: NOAA forecasters estimate a 10% to 15% chance of M-class solar flares during the next 24 hours. The likely source would be sunspot AR1575, near the center of the solar disk. The odds are low, but if a flare occurs in AR1575, it will be Earth-directed. Solar flare alerts: text, voice.

FARSIDE EXPLOSION: An active region on the farside of the sun exploded on Sept. 23rd, hurling a bright coronal mass ejection over the sun's eastern limb. Orbiting at the L1 Lagrange Point, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) recorded the expanding cloud:

The cloud is not heading for Earth. Nor is any other planet in the line of fire. In a few days, however, the sun's rotation will turn the blast site toward Earth. After that, eruptions could become geoeffective.

You can monitor farside explosions and track this active region on your smartphone or iPad: Download the 3D Sun, courtesy of NASA's Heliophysics Division.

Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery

AUTUMN LIGHTS: The onset of northern autumn means it's aurora season. For reasons researchers don't fully understand, equinoxes are the best times to see Northern Lights. And, right on cue, the Arctic Circle is glowing. Marianne Bergli sends this picture of auroras shimmering directly above Storfjord, Norway:

"Last night it was difficult to select [which part of the sky to photograph]. The auroras were dancing everywhere," says Bergli. "Eventually I was just lying on my back looking up. It was absolutely, unbelievable wonderful."

As the week begins, the solar wind velocity is low (~350 km/s), but at this time of year it only takes a gentle gust to ignite bright auroras around the Arctic Circle. High-latitude sky watchers should remain alert for auroras. Aurora alerts: text, voice.

Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery


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

  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 September 24, 2012 there were 1331 potentially hazardous asteroids.
Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Mag.
Size
2012 SW2
Sep 19
1.8 LD
--
14 m
2012 SZ2
Sep 19
8.2 LD
--
38 m
2012 RK15
Sep 24
8.2 LD
--
88 m
2012 SY49
Sep 28
2.6 LD
--
31 m
1998 UO1
Oct 4
60.1 LD
--
2.1 km
2005 GQ21
Oct 12
77 LD
--
1.0 km
1998 ST49
Oct 18
28.7 LD
--
1.3 km
1991 VE
Oct 26
34 LD
--
1.1 km
2001 CV26
Oct 30
68 LD
--
2.4 km
2007 PA8
Nov 5
16.8 LD
--
2.4 km
2010 JK1
Nov 25
9.3 LD
--
56 m
2009 LS
Nov 28
55.2 LD
--
1.1 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
Trade Show Displays
   
  more links...
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