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SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids
 
Solar wind
speed: 321.8 km/sec
density: 0.2 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2338 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: B8
2049 UT Oct28
24-hr: C1
1221 UT Oct28
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2300 UT
Daily Sun: 29 Oct 11
Big sunspot 1330 remains quiet despite its potential for M-class solar flares. Credit: SDO/HMI
Sunspot number: 98
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 28 Oct 2011

Spotless Days
Current Stretch: 0 days
2011 total: 2 days (<1%)
2010 total: 51 days (14%)
2009 total: 260 days (71%)
Since 2004: 821 days
Typical Solar Min: 486 days

Updated 28 Oct 2011


The Radio Sun
10.7 cm flux: 132 sfu
explanation | more data
Updated 28 Oct 2011

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: 2.7 nT
Bz: 1.9 nT north
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2345 UT
Coronal Holes: 28 Oct 11
A solar wind stream flowing from the indicated coronal hole could brush past Earth on Oct. 30. Credit: SDO/AIA.
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts
Updated at: 2011 Oct 28 2200 UTC
FLARE
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
CLASS M
15 %
15 %
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: 2011 Oct 28 2200 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
10 %
25 %
MINOR
05 %
15 %
SEVERE
01 %
05 %
High latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
15 %
35 %
MINOR
05 %
25 %
SEVERE
01 %
15 %
 
Friday, Oct. 28, 2011
What's up in space
 

They came from outer space--and you can have one! Genuine meteorites are now on sale in the Space Weather Store.

 
Own your own meteorite

JUPITER AT OPPOSITION: Tonight Jupiter is at opposition, opposite the sun as seen from Earth. This means the giant planet will be up all night, rising in the east at sunset and soaring overhead at midnight. Jupiter at opposition shines ~36 times brighter than a 1st magnitude star, so it's easy to find. Get out your telescope for an unusually good view of the planet's belts, storms, and moons.

CALIFORNIA ROCKET LAUNCH: This rocket is no longer on Earth:

Photographed by Ben Cooper at sunset on Thursday, Oct. 27th, the Delta 2 rocket lifted off from the Vandenberg Air Force Base on Friday morning at 2:48 am PDT carrying NASA's new NPP Earth-observing satellite. According to agency officials, the satellite is now in orbit, fully-powered with solar arrays extended, and is communicating with mission control. NPP's five scientific instrument packages will gather data for studies of long-term climate change and also improve short-term weather prediction.

En route to orbit, the rocket split the night sky over California and was visible more than 265 miles from the launch site. Browse the links for launch photos: from Dennis Mammana of Borrego Springs, California; from Anthony Galvan II of Goleta, California; from Chas Robinson of Pine Mountain Club; from Richard Glenn of Sun City, CA; from Brian Karczewski of Lake Elsinore, CA; from Bob Northup of Studio City CA

UPDATE: As the sun started to come up over California, the rocket's lingering exhaust caught the sunlight and was visible over a wide area. "It was similar in appearance to noctilucent clouds," reports Carlos Irizarry of South Park, San Diego. "What a nice way to start the day!" Exhaust photos: from Fawn Rigali of Ventura, California; from Carlos Irizarry of South Park, San Diego

48 HOURS LATER: People in the United States are still talking about the spooky red auroras ignited by a CME on Oct. 24th; Northern Lights were sighted as far south as Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Alabama. 48 hours later, the show was over in the USA, but not in Scandinaviia where residual auroras continued to flicker around the Arctic Circle. Norwegian photographer Ole C. Salomonsen took this picture on Oct. 26th:

"I was out shooting the Milky Way when I got a nice surprise," says Salomonsen. "These amazing auroras were still dancing over Tromsø. Several meteors cut across the sky during the photo-shoot, so I was able to capture a fireball, the Northern Lights and the Milky Way in a single exposure!"

More photo-ops are in the offing. The sun is waking up from one of the deepest solar minima in a century, and the solar cycle seems to be rapidly gaining strength. Forecasters expect a new "Solar Max" in 2012-2013 with plenty of aurora storms between now and then. Aurora alerts: text, voice.

more 48-hour shots: from Einar Halvorsrud of Alta, Norway; from Göran Strand of Frösön, Sweden

UPDATED: October 2011 Aurora Gallery
[previous Octobers: 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2004, 2003, 2002]

  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 28, 2011 there were 1256 potentially hazardous asteroids.
Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Mag.
Size
2011 UC64
Oct 24
1.3 LD
--
11 m
2011 UH10
Oct 24
9.6 LD
--
17 m
2011 UL169
Oct 26
0.7 LD
--
10 m
2011 FZ2
Nov 7
75.9 LD
--
1.6 km
2005 YU55
Nov 8
0.8 LD
--
200 m
2011 UT91
Nov 14
9.8 LD
--
95 m
1994 CK1
Nov 16
68.8 LD
--
1.5 km
1996 FG3
Nov 23
39.5 LD
--
1.1 km
2003 WM7
Dec 9
47.6 LD
--
1.5 km
1999 XP35
Dec 20
77.5 LD
--
1.0 km
2000 YA
Dec 26
2.9 LD
--
80 m
2011 SL102
Dec 28
75.9 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
Science Central
 
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