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Solar wind
speed: 302.8 km/sec
density: 0.9 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2347 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: C1
1823 UT Oct09
24-hr: M1
0158 UT Oct09
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2300 UT
Daily Sun: 09 Oct 14
None of these sunspots poses a threat for strong flares. Solar activity is low. Credit: SDO/HMI
Sunspot number: 61
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 09 Oct 2014

Spotless Days
Current Stretch: 0 days
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%)

Update 09 Oct
2014

The Radio Sun
10.7 cm flux: 125 sfu
explanation | more data
Updated 09 Oct 2014

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: 8.8 nT
Bz: 1.8 nT north
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2346 UT
Coronal Holes: 09 Oct 14
There are no large coronal holes on the Earthside of the sun. 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: 09-02-2014 12:55:12
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts
Updated at: 2014 Oct 09 2200 UTC
FLARE
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
CLASS M
05 %
05 %
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 Oct 09 2200 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
15 %
15 %
MINOR
05 %
05 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %
High latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
15 %
15 %
MINOR
25 %
25 %
SEVERE
25 %
25 %
 
Thursday, Oct. 9, 2014
What's up in space
 

On October 23rd there will be a partial eclipse of the Sun. Got clouds? No problem. The event will be broadcast live on the web by the Coca-Cola Science Center.

 
Solar Eclipse Live

LESS QUIET, MORE FLARES: Sunspot AR2181 is growing and beginning to crackle with impulsive M-class solar flares. This development could break several days of quiet on the sun and lead to a more active weekend. Solar flare alerts: text, voice

LUNAR ECLIPSE RECORDED BY SOLAR ARRAY: During a lunar eclipse, the normally-bright full Moon darkens as it passes through the shadow of Earth. Millions of sky watchers witnessed this beautiful dimming on Oct. 8th. David Boatwright of Californiia experienced the eclipse in a different way. His solar array browned out:

"My home has a 4.5 kW photovoltaic solar system on its roof," he explains. "During the day it produces a good amount of electricity. It even produces a couple of volts from ambient light at night. A full Moon will increase it to nearly 4 volts DC when overhead."

"Pictured above is a screen shot of the power output from my system. As you can see, it recorded the lunar eclipse. The voltage was cut in half during totality. From 3:30am to 4:30am PDT, the DC voltage dropped from 4 volts to 2 volts and then back up to 3volts at the conclusion of the eclipse. I believe the 1 volt difference, before vs. after the eclipse, is due to the Moon being lower in the sky when the eclipse ended."

"By the way, I was watching the eclipse in my backyard as this voltage drop was occurring," he says.

Realtime Eclipse Photo Gallery

PICK THE WINDOW SEAT: At this time of year, only a few weeks after the aurora-loving equinox, Northern Lights are almost always visible somewhere around the Arctic Circle. "Last night I was flying to Europe from Calgary and I strategically selected the window seat hoping for a show," reports traveler Christy Turner. This is what she saw:

"Boy did I luck out!" she says. Indeed she did. During her flight, the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) around Earth tipped south. South-pointing IMFs open a crack in Earth's magnetosphere, allowing solar wind to pour through and ignite auroras.

Will it happen again tonight? NOAA forecasters estimate a 20% chance of polar geomagnetic storms--good enough odds to pick the window seat. Aurora alerts: text, voice

Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery

COLORFUL LUNAR ECLIPSE: Lunar eclipses are supposed to be red. Yesterday's eclipse had an extra dash of turquoise. "The colors on this eclipsed moon were more varied and vivid than any in memory -- maybe because it stayed so close to the edge of the shadow for the duration of the eclipse," reports astronomy professor Jimmy Westlake, who sends this picture from Stagecoach, Colorado:

"Nearly every color of the rainbow appeared on the Moon just before the end of totality," he says.

Atmospheric scientist Richard Keen of the University of Colorado explains the colors: "During a lunar eclipse, most of the light illuminating the Moon passes through Earth's stratosphere where it is reddened by scattering. However, light passing through the upper stratosphere penetrates the ozone layer, which absorbs red light and actually makes the passing light ray bluer." This can be seen, he says, as a soft blue fringe around the red core of Earth's shadow--colors which are reflected from the surface of the Moon.

Visit the realtime photo gallery for more colorful snapshots of the Oct. 8th lunar eclipse.

Realtime Eclipse Photo Gallery


Realtime Space Weather 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 Oct. 9, 2014, the network reported 53 fireballs.
(53 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 October 9, 2014 there were potentially hazardous asteroids.
Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Size
2014 SF304
Oct 5
1.9 LD
16 m
2014 TM
Oct 5
4.5 LD
24 m
2014 SB145
Oct 6
4.4 LD
23 m
2001 EA16
Oct 7
35.5 LD
1.9 km
2011 TB4
Oct 9
4.9 LD
34 m
2014 TR
Oct 11
9.9 LD
15 m
2010 FV9
Oct 11
8.7 LD
36 m
2014 TV
Oct 18
4.5 LD
61 m
2014 SC324
Oct 24
1.4 LD
62 m
2003 UC20
Oct 31
52.4 LD
1.0 km
2004 JN13
Nov 18
52.4 LD
4.1 km
1998 SS49
Nov 18
73.9 LD
3.2 km
2005 UH3
Nov 22
44.4 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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