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Solar wind
speed: 446.2 km/sec
density: 1.9 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2346 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: C1
1905 UT Jan22
24-hr: C1
1905 UT Jan22
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2300 UT
Daily Sun: 22 Jan 14
Sunspots AR1957 and AR1959 have 'beta-gamma' magnetic fields that harbor energy for M-class solar flares. Credit: SDO/HMI
Sunspot number: 141
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 22 Jan 2014

Spotless Days
Current Stretch: 0 days
2014 total: 0 days (0%)
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%)

Update
22 Jan 2014

The Radio Sun
10.7 cm flux: 146 sfu
explanation | more data
Updated 22 Jan 2014

Current Auroral Oval:
Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/POES
Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 2 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 3
quiet
explanation | more data
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 4.5 nT
Bz: 1.0 nT north
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2347 UT
Coronal Holes: 21 Jan 14
Earth is inside a stream of solar wind flowing from the indicated coronal hole. . Credit: SDO/AIA.

Spaceweather.com posts daily satellite images of noctilucent clouds (NLCs), which hover over Earth's poles at the edge of space. The data come from NASA's AIM spacecraft. The north polar "daisy" pictured below is a composite of near-realtime images from AIM assembled by researchers at the University of Colorado's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP).
Noctilucent Clouds
Switch view: Europe, USA, Asia, Polar
Updated at: 01-22-2014 10:55:06
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts
Updated at: 2014 Jan 22 2200 UTC
FLARE
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
CLASS M
30 %
30 %
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: 2014 Jan 22 2200 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
15 %
05 %
MINOR
05 %
01 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %
High latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
15 %
15 %
MINOR
25 %
15 %
SEVERE
25 %
05 %
 
Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2014
What's up in space
 

When is the best time to see auroras? Where is the best place to go? And how do you photograph them? These questions and more are answered in a new book, Northern Lights - a Guide, by Pal Brekke & Fredrik Broms.

 
Northern Lights - a Guide

MOSTLY QUIET WITH A CHANCE OF FLARES: For the past 24 hours, solar activity has been low. However, two sunspots facing Earth, AR1957 and AR1959, have 'beta-gamma' magnetic fields that harbor energy for M-class solar flares. NOAA forecasters estimate a 30% chance of M-flares on Jan. 22nd. Solar flare alerts: text, voice.

SUPERNOVA! Approximately 12 million years ago, a white dwarf star in the galaxy M82 exploded. This week, light from the distant supernova reached Earth. Amateur astronomers can easily see it through backyard telescopes as a fireball of magnitude +11.2, shown here in a photo taken by Leonard Ellul-Mercer on Jan. 22nd:

Although it is 12 million light years away, M82 is considered to be a next-door neighbor of the Milky Way. Indeed, this is the nearest supernova to Earth since SN 1993J exploded 21 years ago. The relative proximity of the blast makes it an attractive target for astronomers to study. Light curves from previous supernovas of this type suggest that the fireball could continue to brighten for the next two weeks.

If you have a GOTO telescope, this evening command it to slew to the "cigar galaxy" or "M82," and watch the explosion unfold.

Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery

ARCTIC LIGHTS: Earth is entering a stream of solar wind blowing faster than 500 km/s (1.1 million mph), and this is sparking auroras around the Arctic Circle. Just after nightfall on Jan. 21st, Harald Albrigtsen photographed the display over Kvaløya, Tromsø, Norway:

"I caught the auroras just before the clouds arrived," says Albrigtsen, "so it was a lucky shot."

More lucky shots are possible on Jan. 23 when a CME is expected to deliver a glancing blow to Earth's magnetic field, adding to the effect of the solar wind stream already here. NOAA forecasters estimate a 25% chance of polar geomagnetic storms. Aurora alerts: text, voice.

Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery

FASCINATING PHENOMENA OF JUPITER'S MOONS: On Jan. 5th, Earth passed directly between the sun and Jupiter. Astronomers call this an "opposition" because the sun and Jupiter were on opposite sides of the sky. "Jupiter's opposition is always an opportunity for beautiful pictures of moons transiting Jupiter, sometimes directly in front of their own shadows," says John H. Rogers, Jupiter Section Director of the British Astronomical Association. "Observers have produced some fine examples from the opposition earlier this month." Some of the best are collected here:

Transits around opposition are beautiful, but something even more rare and special is coming this fall. "In autumn, Jupiter's moons will begin a series of mutual eclipses and occultations," Rogers says. The satellites will criss-cross in the sky, dipping in and out of one another's shadows. Predictions by Jean Meeus have been posted by the British Astronomical Association Computing Section at these URLs. "The last time these mutual events occurred, in 2009, observers were able to produce the first high-resolution movies of moons eclipsing moons. No doubt some of you will be able to do even better this time around." Stay tuned!

Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery


Realtime Venus Photo Gallery


Realtime Comet 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 Jan. 22, 2014, the network reported 16 fireballs.
(16 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]

On Jan. 21, 2014, the network reported 8 fireballs.
(8 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 January 22, 2014 there were potentially hazardous asteroids.
Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Size
2007 SJ
Jan 21
18.9 LD
1.8 km
2012 BX34
Jan 28
9.6 LD
13 m
2006 DP14
Feb 10
6.2 LD
730 m
2000 EM26
Feb 18
8.8 LD
195 m
2000 EE14
Mar 6
64.6 LD
1.8 km
2003 QQ47
Mar 26
49.9 LD
1.4 km
1995 SA
Apr 2
73.1 LD
1.6 km
2000 HD24
Apr 4
42.2 LD
1.3 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
Space Weather Alerts
   
  more links...
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