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SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids
 
Solar wind
speed: 313.9 km/sec
density: 6.1 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2344 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: C2
2013 UT Dec07
24-hr: C2
2013 UT Dec07
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2300 UT
Daily Sun: 07 Dec 11
Sunspots 1362 and 1363 pose a 20% chance of M-class solar flares today. Credit: SDO/HMI
Sunspot number: 143
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 06 Dec 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 06 Dec 2011


The Radio Sun
10.7 cm flux: 151 sfu
explanation | more data
Updated 06 Dec 2011

Current Auroral Oval:
Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/POES
Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 0 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 1
quiet
explanation | more data
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 3.6 nT
Bz: 3.5 nT north
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2345 UT
Coronal Holes: 07 Dec 11
There are no large coronal holes on the Earthside of the sun. Credit: SDO/AIA.
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts
Updated at: 2011 Dec 07 2200 UTC
FLARE
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
CLASS M
20 %
20 %
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 Dec 07 2200 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
10 %
10 %
MINOR
05 %
05 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %
High latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
15 %
15 %
MINOR
05 %
05 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %
 
Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011
What's up in space
 

Turn your cell phone into a field-tested satellite tracker. Works for Android and iPhone.

 
Satellite flybys

TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE: Mark your calendar. On Saturday, Dec. 10th, the full Moon will glide through the coppery shadow of Earth, producing a total lunar eclipse visible from the Pacific side of our planet. For residents of the western USA and Canada, the event unfolds at dawn and will be magnified to super-sized proportions by the Moon illusion. [Science@NASA: full story, video]

QUIET SUN: The face of the sun is peppered with spots, but none of them is actively producing flares. Since yesterday, the sun's X-ray output has flatlined:

Despite the quiet, there is potential for Earth-directed eruptions. Sunspots 1362 and 1363 have "beta-gamma" magnetic fields that harbor energy for M-class solar flares. NOAA forecasters estimate a 20% chance of M-flares during the next 24 hours. Solar flare alerts: text, phone.

THE MOON AND JUPITER: Last night's close encounter between Jupiter and the Moon was a knockout. Literally:

"This is what happened when a friend and I went out to watch the conjunction," says photographer Göran Strand of Frösön, Sweden. "It was a clear and cold night and, fortunately, we found a very nice spot to hit the ground south of Östersund."

In case you missed the conjunction, you won't have to wait long for it to happen again. The Moon will spend the next few weeks circling the sky, returning for another meet-up with Jupiter on Jan. 2, 2012. The New Year begins with a knock-out sky show. SpaceWeather Phone (text, voice) subscribers will receive a reminder when the time comes.

more images: from Tamas Abraham of Zsambek, Hungary; from Mitsuo Muraoka of Hatoyama, Saitama, Japan; from Timothy Boocock of Trysil, Norway; from Manuel Castillo of Chiclana de la Frontera, Cádiz, España; from Tamas Ladanyi of Veszprem,Hungary; from Monika Landy-Gyebnar of Veszprem, Hungary; from Catalin M. Timosca of Turda, Romania; from Mike Hollingshead of Modale, Iowa; from VegaStar Carpentier of Paris, France; from Kosma Coronaios of Louis Trichardt, Limpopo Province, South Africa

  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 December 7, 2011 there were 1272 potentially hazardous asteroids.
Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Mag.
Size
2011 WV74
Dec 2
2.3 LD
--
13 m
2011 WU74
Dec 4
4.2 LD
--
23 m
2003 XV
Dec 7
1.1 LD
--
21 m
2003 WM7
Dec 9
47.6 LD
--
1.6 km
2000 YA
Dec 26
2.9 LD
--
80 m
2011 SL102
Dec 28
75.9 LD
--
1.0 km
2011 WS95
Dec 28
7.2 LD
--
49 m
1991 VK
Jan 25
25.3 LD
--
1.9 km
433 Eros
Jan 31
69.5 LD
--
8.5 km
2009 AV
Feb 16
44.9 LD
--
1.2 km
2000 ET70
Feb 19
17.7 LD
--
1.0 km
2011 CP4
Feb 23
9.1 LD
--
255 m
2008 EJ85
Mar 6
9.1 LD
--
44 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 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
Trade Show Displays
   
  more links...
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