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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: 387.8 km/sec
density: 1.3 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2345 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: B4
2020 UT Oct27
24-hr: C1
0925 UT Oct27
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2340 UT
Daily Sun: 27 Oct. 09
Sunspot 1029 is a member of new Solar Cycle 24. Photo credit: SOHO/MDI
Sunspot number: 29
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 26 Oct 2009

Spotless Days
Current Stretch: 0 days
2009 total: 232 days (78%)
Since 2004: 743 days
Typical Solar Min: 485 days
explanation | more info
Updated 26 Oct 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= 1 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 1
quiet
explanation | more data
Current Auroral Oval:
Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/POES
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 2.5 nT
Bz: 1.0 nT north
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 Oct 27 2201 UTC
FLARE
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
CLASS M
05 %
05 %
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 Oct 27 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
05 %
05 %
MINOR
01 %
01 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %
What's up in Space
October 27, 2009

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

 

MYSTERY OBJECT: Yesterday, astronomers in Arizona, New Mexico and Spain, all hunting for near-Earth asteroids, discovered a "mystery object" orbiting Earth. Temporarily named "9U01FF6," it is small and in an elongated, 31-day orbit. Experts say it is probably a piece of an Apollo-era Moon mission. We'll get a closer look on Oct. 29th when it zips past Earth about 82,000 km (0.2 lunar distances) away. Advanced amateur astronomers can find it using this ephemeris.

BIG SUNSPOT: By unleashing six C-class solar flares in the past 48 hours, sunspot 1029 has become the most active sunspot of the year so far. This morning, Paul Haese photographed the maelstrom from his backyard observatory in Blackwood, South Australia:

"It's a fantastic beauty," he says. "I took the picture using my Coronado SolarMax60 and a Lumenera Skynyx 2-0 digital camera."

The sunspot is growing rapidly (movie), making it an expanding target for backyard solar telescopes. If you have one, take a look!

sunspot images: from Marco Vidovic of Stojnci, Slovenia; from Pavol Rapavy of Observatory Rimavska Sobota, Slovakia; from Pete Lawrence of Selsey, West Sussex, UK; from Gianluca Valentini of Rimini, Italy; from Michael Buxton of Ocean Beach, California; from Emiel Veldhuis of Zwolle, the Netherlands; from Alan Friedman of Buffalo, NY; from Cai-Uso Wohler of Bispingen, Germany; from Steve Rismiller of Milford, Ohio; from Fabio Mariuzza of Biauzzo, Italy; from Bruno Nolf of Otegem, Belgium; from Brian Colville of Maple Ridge Observatory - Cambray, ON

MONDAY NIGHT SKY SHOW: Last night, people around the world witnessed a bright and beautiful alignment of Jupiter and the Moon. "Here they are with some tasteful Halloween decorations in Los Angeles," says California photographer Bob Northup:

The scenery was a little spookier in Buffalo, New York, where amateur astronomer Alan Friedman caught the pair beaming through gnarly trees outside his house. "I also found some ghosts of the first quarter Moon reflected in the lens of my camera," he says.

Readers who missed the conjunction can see it happen again on Nov. 23rd, almost a month from now. That's how long it will take for the Moon to circle the sky and rejoin Jupiter. Mark your calendar.

more images: from Darrell Oake of Halifax Nova Scotia, Canada; from Aaron Top of Shallow Lake, Ontario, Canada; from M. Raşid Tuğral of Ankara, Turkey; from Azhy Chato Hasan of Erbil city, Kurdistan Region, Iraq; from Stefano De Rosa of Turin, Italy; from Florin Marc of Tirgu Mures Romania; from John C McConnell of Maghaberry Northern Ireland; from Doug Zubenel of De Soto, Kansas; from Mohammad Mehdi Asgari of Arak,Iran; from Stephen McCaul of NW Scotland


October Northern Lights Gallery
[previous Octobers: 2008, 2007, 2006, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001]


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 October 27, 2009 there were 1077 potentially hazardous asteroids.
Oct. 2009 Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Mag.
Size
2001 CV26
Oct. 8
9.8 LD
13
2.2 km
2009 TJ
Oct. 13
10.8 LD
18
130 m
2009 TM8
Oct. 17
0.9 LD
17
10 m
2009 TF8
Oct. 17
7.6 LD
19
20 m
2009 TH8
Oct. 19
4.5 LD
18
45 m
2009 UE
Oct. 19
2.5 LD
19
40 m
2009 UD
Oct. 20
2.0 LD
17
17 m
1999 AP10
Oct. 20
29.7 LD
13
2.7 km
2009 TO8
Oct. 21
7.4 LD
19
27 m
2009 UJ
Oct. 22
6.8 LD
19
25 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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