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SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids
 
Solar wind
speed: 399.4 km/sec
density: 3.2 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2348 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: B1
1722 UT Apr03
24-hr: B2
1338 UT Apr03
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2300 UT
Daily Sun: 03 Apr 16
Earth-facing sunspot AR2526 has a stable magnetic field that poses no threat for strong solar flares. Credit: SDO/HMI

Sunspot number: 11
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 03 Apr 2016

Spotless Days
Current Stretch: 0 days
2016 total: 0 days (0%)
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 03 Apr 2016


The Radio Sun
10.7 cm flux: 82 sfu
explanation | more data
Updated 03 Apr 2016

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: 7.9 nT
Bz: 2.2 nT south
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2348 UT
Coronal Holes: 03 Apr 16

Solar wind flowing from the indicated coronal hole should reach Earth on April 4-5. Credit: SDO/AIA.
Noctilucent Clouds The southern season for noctilucent clouds began on Dec. 13, 2015. It is expected to end in late February or March 2016.
Switch view: Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctic Peninsula, East Antarctica, Polar
Updated at: 02-12-2016 16:55:02
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts
Updated at: 2016 Apr 03 2200 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: 2016 Apr 03 2200 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
20 %
35 %
MINOR
05 %
20 %
SEVERE
01 %
05 %
High latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
15 %
10 %
MINOR
25 %
25 %
SEVERE
25 %
55 %
 
Sunday, Apr. 3, 2016
What's up in space
       
 

Marianne's Heaven On Earth Aurora Chaser Tours Chasethelighttours.co.uk invites you to join them in their quest to find and photograph the Aurora Borealis. Experience the winter wonderland in the Tromsø Area.

 
Chase the Light Tours

ANOTHER STREAM OF SOLAR WIND IS COMING: Geomagnetic activity is subsiding as Earth exits a solar wind stream that hit our planet's magnetic field on April 2nd. The quiet might not last long, however, because another stream of solar wind is coming. Estimated time of arrival: April 5th. NOAA forecasters say there is a a 55% chance of G1-class geomagnetic storms on Tuesday. Once again, Arctic sky watchers are favored for auroras. Aurora alerts: text or voice

WEEKEND AURORAS: A solar wind stream hit Earth's magnetic field on April 2nd, sparking a G2-class geomagnetic storm and bright auroras around the Arctic Circle. Göran Strand photographed the outburst of lights over Östersund, Sweden:

"This is an all-sky photo showing the entire sky at 23:19 UT on April 2nd," says Strand. "Northern Lights were everywhere!"

In high latitude places like Sweden, spring twilight is beginning to intrude on the midnight sky, making auroras increasingly difficult to see. "Aurora season is quickly running out," laments Strand. " I hope to see some more before the bright nights return."

He may get his wish. Another stream of solar wind is on the way, due to reach Earth on April 5th. Moreover, the incoming stream is filled with "negative polarity" magnetic fields. Such fields can easily link to Earth's magnetic field, opening a crack in our planet's defenses against solar wind. This sets the stage for a new round of Arctic lights early this week. Aurora alerts: text or voice

Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery

SPHERICAL ASTRONOMY CAMERA: Astrophotographers are increasingly impressed by a new camera on the market. It's the Ricoh Theta S, and it can take spherical images and videos under a wide range of astronomical conditions. The students of Earth to Sky Calculus have used it to photograph the edge of space from a freezing helium balloon flying 117,000 feet above Earth, as well as a total eclipse of the sun from a balmy beach only a few feet above sea level in Indonesia. Last week in Europe, photographers Karoline Mrazek and Erwin Matys found a new use for the Ricoh Theta S. "It makes a great survey instrument for light pollution," they say. Click on the image for a 360-degree view:

"We did an exposure at Star Meadow, the endpoint of the Grossmugl Star Walk in Austria," they explain. "It shows that the environment is 'clouded' by light pollution as much as 20 degrees above the horizon. This will help us plan future observing sessions at this otherwise dark-sky site."

Mrazek and Matys are founding members of the astrophotography group project nightflight. They've been testing the Ricoh Theta S in many settings for night-sky photography. Their complete report on spherical astrophotography is highly recomended. Read it here.

Realtime Spaceweather Photo Gallery

THE GIANT GREEN ATMOSPHERE OF A COMET: On March 21st, Comet 252P/LINEAR buzzed Earth only 5.4 million km away. It was the 3rd-closest approach by any comet in recorded history. Since then, amateur astronomer Michael Jäger has been tracking the comet, taking ever-improving pictures as 252P races into northern skies over his private observatory in Stixendorf, Austria. His latest image, obtained on March 31st, reveals the comet's magnificent green atmosphere:

The green cloud in Jäger's photo comes from jets of gas spewing out of the comet's core. While the comet's icy core is tiny, perhaps only a few km wide, the surrounding atmosphere is enormous. The gas cloud measures 90,000 km across. This means it is more than half the size of the planet Jupiter, and about twice as wide as Neptune. Comet 252P/LINEAR is a gas giant, indeed.

The comet is green because its vaporizing nucleus emits diatomic carbon, C2, a gas which glows green in the near-vacuum of space. Astronomers who wish to see the verdant hue for themselves can point their telescopes using this ephemeris. Mid-sized telescopes and CCD cameras are required for best results.

Realtime Comet Photo Gallery
[Resources: brightness measurements, 3D orbit, orbital elements]


Solar Eclipse 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 Apr. 3, 2016, the network reported 2 fireballs.
(2 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 April 3, 2016 there were potentially hazardous asteroids.
Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Size
2016 FL14
Mar 30
12.1 LD
29 m
2016 FC13
Apr 1
12.8 LD
175 m
2016 GG1
Apr 2
12.2 LD
21 m
2016 FB13
Apr 3
1.2 LD
20 m
2016 FX7
Apr 3
10 LD
19 m
2016 FW13
Apr 5
0.8 LD
6 m
2016 GH1
Apr 5
2.1 LD
14 m
2016 GE1
Apr 5
1.4 LD
24 m
2002 AJ29
Apr 6
55.2 LD
1.5 km
2016 FT13
Apr 7
9.8 LD
18 m
2002 EB3
Apr 8
55.6 LD
1.2 km
2009 KJ
Apr 10
37.7 LD
1.6 km
2016 FV13
Apr 11
1.8 LD
28 m
2016 GU
Apr 11
2.7 LD
35 m
2005 GR33
Apr 13
7.7 LD
175 m
2016 FL12
Apr 13
9.6 LD
24 m
2016 FS14
Apr 14
13.6 LD
37 m
2016 FL13
Apr 15
9.7 LD
36 m
2008 HU4
Apr 16
4.9 LD
10 m
2016 FY12
Apr 17
5.9 LD
24 m
2016 FN13
Apr 19
13.9 LD
13 m
2016 GC1
Apr 21
8.9 LD
23 m
2016 FH12
Apr 23
7.8 LD
21 m
2016 FY3
Apr 25
6.3 LD
310 m
2001 VG5
Apr 28
52.4 LD
1.8 km
2014 US115
May 1
9.4 LD
52 m
2008 TZ3
May 5
13.1 LD
355 m
2014 JG55
May 8
7.6 LD
7 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.
  Cosmic Rays in the Atmosphere
Situation Report -- Oct. 30, 2015 Stratospheric Radiation (+37o N)
Cosmic ray levels are elevated (+6.1% above the Space Age median). The trend is flat. Cosmic ray levels have increased +0% in the past month.
Sept. 06: 4.14 uSv/hr (414 uRad/hr)
Sept. 12: 4.09 uSv/hr (409 uRad/hr)
Sept. 23: 4.12 uSv/hr (412 uRad/hr)
Sept. 25: 4.16 uSv/hr (416 uRad/hr)
Sept. 27: 4.13 uSv/hr (413 uRad/hr)
Oct. 11: 4.02 uSv/hr (402 uRad/hr)
Oct. 22: 4.11 uSv/hr (411 uRad/hr)
These measurements are based on regular space weather balloon flights: learn more.

Approximately once a week, Spaceweather.com and the students of Earth to Sky Calculus fly "space weather balloons" to the stratosphere over California. These balloons are equipped with radiation sensors that detect cosmic rays, a surprisingly "down to Earth" form of space weather. Cosmic rays can seed clouds, trigger lightning, and penetrate commercial airplanes. Our measurements show that someone flying back and forth across the continental USA, just once, can absorb as much ionizing radiation as 2 to 5 dental X-rays. For example, here is the data from a flight on Oct. 22, 2015:

Radiation levels peak at the entrance to the stratosphere in a broad region called the "Pfotzer Maximum." This peak is named after physicist George Pfotzer who discovered it using balloons and Geiger tubes in the 1930s. Radiation levels there are more than 80x sea level.

Note that the bottom of the Pfotzer Maximim is near 55,000 ft. This means that some high-flying aircraft are not far from the zone of maximum radiation. Indeed, according to the Oct 22th measurements, a plane flying at 45,000 feet is exposed to 2.79 uSv/hr. At that rate, a passenger would absorb about one dental X-ray's worth of radiation in about 5 hours.

The radiation sensors onboard our helium balloons detect X-rays and gamma-rays in the energy range 10 keV to 20 MeV. These energies span the range of medical X-ray machines and airport security scanners.

  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
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