SPACE WEATHER Current Conditions Solar Wind velocity: 278.5 km/s density:4.7 protons/cm3 explanation | more data Updated: Today at 2247 UT X-ray Solar Flares 6-hr max: C3 1650 UT Sep10 24-hr: C7 1520 UT Sep10 explanation | more data Updated: Today at 2245 UT Daily Sun: 10 Sep '01 Active regions 9606 and 9608 have gamma-class magnetic fields that harbor energy for strong M-class flares. Image credit: SOHO/MDI The Far Side of the Sun This holographic image reveals no substantial sunspots on the far side of the Sun. Image credit: SOHO/MDI Sunspot Number: 291 More about sunspots Updated: 09 Sep 2001 Radio Meteor Rate 24 hr max: 25 per hr Listen to the Meteor Radar! Updated: 09 Sep 2001 Interplanetary Mag. Field Btotal: 3.4 nT Bz: 0.7 nT north explanation | more data Updated: Today at 2247 UT Coronal Holes: A small coronal hole is approaching the Sun's central meridian. Image credit: SOHO Extreme UV Telescope. More about coronal holes SPACE WEATHER NOAA Forecasts Solar Flares: Probabilities for a medium-sized (M-class) or a major (X-class) solar flare during the next 24/48 hours are tabulated below. Updated at 2001 Sep 10 2200 UT FLARE | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | CLASS M | 90 % | 90 % | CLASS X | 15 % | 15 % | Geomagnetic Storms: Probabilities for significant disturbances in Earth's magnetic field are given for three activity levels: active, minor storm, severe storm Updated at 2001 Sep 10 2200 UT Mid-latitudes | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | ACTIVE | 15 % | 20 % | MINOR | 05 % | 10 % | SEVERE | 01 % | 01 % | High latitudes | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | ACTIVE | 20 % | 30 % | MINOR | 10 % | 10 % | SEVERE | 01 % | 01 % | Web server provided by VPS Hosting | What's Up in Space -- 10 Sep 2001 Subscribe to Space Weather News! SOLAR FLARE: A powerful solar flare, classified as an M9 event by the NOAA Space Environment Center, erupted near sunspot 9608 at 2045 UT on September 9th. The blast triggered a modest R2-class radio blackout over the Americas and across the Pacific Ocean, but there was no substantial coronal mass ejection. Above: SOHO's extreme ultaviolet telescope captured these images of the brief, but powerful flare. SUNSPOTS IN MOTION: In recent days an impressive sunspot group has emerged near the Sun's southeastern limb. This animation (below) shows the sprawling complex, which stretches more than 30 Earth-diameters from end to end, rotating into view between September 3rd and 9th. You can see these sunspots for yourself. But never look directly at the Sun! Use safe solar projection methods instead. Above: These data, spanning September 3rd through 9th, are courtesy of the NASA/ESA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory. WEB LINKS: NOAA FORECAST | GLOSSARY | SPACE WEATHER TUTORIAL | LESSON PLANS | BECOME A SUBSCRIBER | 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 are on a collision course with our planet, although astronomers are finding new ones all the time. On 10 Sep 2001 there were 318 known Potentially Hazardous Asteroids Sep-Oct. 2001 Earth-asteroid encountersNotes: LD is a "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. - PERSEIDS 2001: Perseid watchers on August 12th spotted meteors, auroras, and a disintegrating Russian rocket! [gallery]
- MORNING PLANETS: In July and Aug. 2001, the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, and Mercury put on a dazzling early-morning sky show. [gallery]
- C/2001 A2 (LINEAR): This volatile comet is still visible through small telescopes as it recedes from Earth. [gallery]
- ECLIPSE SAFARI: Onlookers cried out in delight on June 21, 2001, when the Moon covered the African Sun, revealing the dazzling corona. [gallery]
- TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE: On Jan. 9, 2001, the full Moon glided through Earth's copper-colored shadow. [gallery]
- CHRISTMAS ECLIPSE: Sky watchers across North America enjoyed a partial solar eclipse on Christmas Day 2000 [gallery]
- LEONIDS 2000: Observers around the globe enjoyed three predicted episodes of shooting stars. [gallery]
July 27, 2001: Meteorites Don't Pop Corn -- A fireball that dazzled Americans on July 23rd probably didn't scorch any cornfields, contrary to widespread reports. June 12, 2001: The Biggest Explosions in the Solar System -- NASA's HESSI spacecraft aims to unravel an explosive mystery: the origin of solar flares. Feb. 21, 2001: Nature's Tiniest Space Junk -- Using an experimental radar, NASA scientists are monitoring tiny but hazardous meteoroids that swarm around our planet. Feb. 15, 2001: The Sun Does a Flip -- NASA scientists who monitor the Sun say our star's enormous magnetic field is reversing -- a sure sign that solar maximum is here. Jan. 25, 2001: Earth's Invisible Magnetic Tail -- NASA's IMAGE spacecraft, the first to enjoy a global view of the magnetosphere, spotted a curious plasma tail pointing from Earth toward the Sun. Jan. 4, 2001: Earth at Perihelion -- On January 4, 2001, our planet made its annual closest approach to the Sun. Dec. 29, 2000: Millennium Meteors -- North Americans will have a front-row seat for a brief but powerful meteor shower on January 3, 2001. Dec. 28, 2000: Galileo Looks for Auroras on Ganymede -- NASA's durable Galileo spacecraft flew above the solar system's largest moon this morning in search of extraterrestrial "Northern Lights" Dec. 22, 2000: Watching the Angry Sun -- Solar physicists are enjoying their best-ever look at a Solar Maximum thanks to NOAA and NASA satellites. MORE SPACE WEATHER HEADLINES |