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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: 733.9 km/sec
density: 1.5 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2245 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: A0
2155 UT Feb29
24-hr: A0
1210 UT Feb29
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2245 UT
Daily Sun: 29 Feb 08
The sun is blank--no sunspots. Credit: SOHO/MDI
Sunspot number: 0
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 29 Feb 2008
Far side of the Sun:
This holographic image reveals no large sunspots on the far side of the sun. Image credit: SOHO/MDI
Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 4 unsettled
24-hr max: Kp= 5
mild
explanation | more data
Current Auroral Oval:

Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/POES
Updated:
What is the auroral oval?
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 5.8 nT
Bz: 4.9 nT south
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2246 UT
Coronal Holes:
Earth is inside a solar wind stream flowing from the indicated coronal hole. Credit: Hinode X-Ray Telescope
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts
Updated at: 2008 Feb 29 2203 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: 2008 Feb 29 2203 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
20 %
15 %
MINOR
05 %
05 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %
High latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
30 %
20 %
MINOR
15 %
10 %
SEVERE
05 %
01 %

What's up in Space
February 29, 2008
Where's Saturn? Is that a UFO--or the ISS? What's the name of that star? Get the answers from mySKY--a fun new astronomy helper from Meade.   mySKY

DON'T FORGET COMET HOLMES: Since its startling explosion in Oct. 2007, Comet 17P/Holmes has slowly faded from view--out of sight and out of the headlines. But the giant comet is still putting on a show for anyone with a backyard telescope. Consider this Feb. 24th photo taken by Michael Jäger of Stixendorf, Austria. The red cloud next to Comet Holmes is the California Nebula. "What a great photo-op," says Jack Newton of Arizona who caught the pair three nights later. Comet Holmes (and friend) is easy to find; after sunset, just point your optics straight up at the constellation Perseus. [ephemeris]

GEOGRAPHY QUIZ: Suppose you look up and see this. Where on Earth are you? Scroll down for the answer.


Photo details: Nikon D3, ISO 1600, 1.6 secs.

Alaska! "Last night we had the best auroras of the year," reports Lance Parrish who took the picture not far from Fairbanks. They materialized when a solar wind stream hit Earth causing a storm of magnitude 5 on the 0 to 9 "K-index" scale of geomagnetic activity. "The lights were moving so fast across the sky, it was hard to keep up."

Another display is possible tonight as the solar wind continues to blow; NOAA forecasters estimate a 30% chance of geomagnetic activity. Sky watchers in Scandinavia, Canada, Alaska and northern Russia, be alert for auroras.

February 2008 Aurora Gallery
[Aurora Alerts] [Night Sky Cameras]

LUNAR TRANSIT: This morning the International Space Station flew directly in front of the Moon. John Stetson of Gorham, Maine, captured the transit:

"The sun was still 5 degrees below our horizon at the time of the transit," says Stetson. High overhead, however, the sun was "up" and shining on the space station and the Moon, which made them easy to see against the dark, pre-dawn sky of Maine.

The remarkable thing about this photo is the visibility of the ISS. NASA has been working hard to expand the ISS with new solar arrays, laboratories and living quarters. The station has grown so large and reflects so much sunlight, it is now brighter than the lava seas and craters of a morning quarter Moon: ISS flyby alerts.


Lunar Eclipse Photo Gallery
[Interactive World Map of Eclipse Photos]

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. [comment]
On February 29, 2008 there were 931 potentially hazardous asteroids.
Feb. 2008 Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Mag.
Size
2008 CT1
Feb. 5
0.3 LD
15
13 m
2007 DA
Feb. 12
9.8 LD
18
140 m
2008 CK70
Feb. 15
1.0 LD
16
40 m
4450 Pan
Feb. 19
15.9 LD
13
1.6 km
2002 TD66
Feb. 26
16.7 LD
15
440 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 bureau for real-time monitoring of solar and geophysical events, research in solar-terrestrial physics, and forecasting solar and geophysical disturbances.
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.
Daily Sunspot Summaries
  From the NOAA Space Environment Center
Current Solar Images
  from the National Solar Data Analysis Center
  more links...
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