|   SPACE WEATHER
Current
Conditions
Solar Wind
velocity: 350.5 km/s
density:1.0 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2246 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: M1 2245 UT Aug24
24-hr: M1 0915 UT Aug24
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2245 UT
Daily Sun: 24 Aug '01 
Sunspot 9591 near the southeast limb has a twisted delta-class magnetic field capable of unleashing X-class solar flares. Image credit: SOHO/MDI
The Far Side of the Sun
This holographic image reveals a large sunspot forming on the farside of the Sun. Image credit: SOHO/MDI
Sunspot Number: 194
More about sunspots
Updated: 23 Aug 2001
Radio Meteor Rate
24 hr max: 26 per hr
Listen to the Meteor Radar!
Updated: 24 Aug 2001 Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 1.8 nT
Bz: 0.8 nT north
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2247 UT Coronal Holes:
A long north-south coronal hole is crossing the Sun's central meridian. It is sending a solar wind stream toward Earth that we will encounter around August 27th. 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 Aug 24 2200 UT
| FLARE | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | | CLASS M | 50 % | 60 % | | CLASS X | 10 % | 10 % |
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 Aug 24 2200 UT Mid-latitudes | 24 hr | 48 hr | | ACTIVE | 15 % | 25 % | | MINOR | 01 % | 05 % | | SEVERE | 01 % | 01 % |
High latitudes | 24 hr | 48 hr | | ACTIVE | 20 % | 30 % | | MINOR | 05 % | 10 % | | SEVERE | 01 % | 01 % |
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| What's Up in Space -- 24 Aug 2001
Subscribe to Space Weather News!  SUNSPOT ALERT: Fast-growing sunspot group AR9591 now covers a region of the Sun equivalent to the total surface area of four planet Earths. Furthermore, the large spot is surrounded by a tangled delta-class magnetic field that probably harbors energy for powerful X-class solar flares. Eruptions that happen today wouldn't likely be Earth-directed because the sunspot is near the Sun's southeastern limb. But the threat of Earth-directed explosions will increase in the days ahead as AR9591 rotates toward the Sun's central meridian.
 AURORAS: Our planet is exiting a high-speed solar wind stream flowing from a coronal hole on the Sun. Solar wind gusts have buffeted Earth's magnetic field since Tuesday and triggered mild geomagnetic unrest. Right: Alaskan John Russell captured this image of twilight auroras just as Earth was entering the solar wind stream on August 21st. Click for more.
PERSEID GALLERY: The 2001 Perseid meteor shower peaked on August 12, 2001. Visit SpaceWeather.com's Perseid Gallery to enjoy sights and sounds from the shower -- including a dazzling fireball caused by a Russian rocket shell plummeting to Earth and a brief episode of aurora borealis. 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 24 Aug 2001 there were 316 known Potentially
Hazardous Asteroids August 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. 
- 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 |
