![](images/new/newdot.gif) SPACE WEATHER Current Conditions Solar Wind velocity: 426.9 km/s density:11.2 protons/cm3 explanation | more data Updated: Today at 2247 UT X-ray Solar Flares 6-hr max: X4 1650 UT Aug25 24-hr: X5 1645 UT Aug25 explanation | more data Updated: Today at 2245 UT Daily Sun: 25 Aug '01 ![](images2001/25aug01/midi140.gif) Sunspot 9591 near the southeast limb has a twisted delta-class magnetic field capable of unleashing X-class solar flares. A new spot -- first seen in holographic far side maps (below) on August 20th -- is emerging near the north east limb. Image credit: SOHO/MDI The Far Side of the Sun![](images2001/20aug01/midi_farside_med.gif) This holographic image reveals a large sunspot forming on the farside of the Sun. Image credit: SOHO/MDI Sunspot Number: 187 More about sunspots Updated: 24 Aug 2001 Radio Meteor Rate 24 hr max: 26 per hr Listen to the Meteor Radar! Updated: 24 Aug 2001 Interplanetary Mag. Field Btotal: 11.3 nT Bz: 0.9 nT north explanation | more data Updated: Today at 2247 UT Coronal Holes: ![](images2001/24aug01/coronalhole_soho.gif) 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 25 2200 UT FLARE | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | CLASS M | 75 % | 75 % | 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 25 2200 UT Mid-latitudes | 24 hr | 48 hr | ACTIVE | 25 % | 40 % | MINOR | 05 % | 30 % | SEVERE | 01 % | 20 % | High latitudes | 24 hr | 48 hr | ACTIVE | 30 % | 45 % | MINOR | 10 % | 35 % | SEVERE | 05 % | 20 % | ![](logos/logoa_small.gif) Web server provided by VPS Hosting | What's Up in Space -- 25 Aug 2001 Subscribe to Space Weather News! X-FLARE: Sunspot group AR9591 unleashed a powerful X5-class solar flare at 1645 UT (1245 EDT) on August 25th. The explosion triggered an hour-long radio blackout over parts of Europe, Africa, and the Americas. It also hurled a brilliant halo coronal mass ejection into space (pictured right). The site of the explosion was near the Sun's southeastern limb, so the CME is not heading directly toward our planet. Nevertheless, we will experience a glancing blow from the expanding cloud late Sunday or more likely Monday. ![](images2001/25aug01/flare_eit_strip.gif) Above: This false-color movie captured by an extreme ultraviolet telescope aboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory shows today's explosion above sunspot 9591. GEOMAGNETIC UNREST: Northern skies have been aglow in recent days as a result of interplanetary shock waves and solar wind streams buffeting Earth's magnetic field. More auroras could be on the way if today's CME hits Earth's magnetosphere late Sunday or Monday. Sky watchers should remain alert for Northern Lights around local midnight in the days ahead. NEW COMET: Last weekend amateur astronomer Vance Petriew peered through the eyepiece of his telescope and saw a curious-looking smudge. Intrigued, he consulted his star charts and found ... nothing. The uncharted blob was no galaxy or nebula -- he had found a new comet! Haul out your telescopes and see Comet Petriew for yourself as it glides through the early morning sky in the weeks ahead. [Full Story] WEB LINKS: NOAA FORECAST | GLOSSARY | SPACE WEATHER TUTORIAL | LESSON PLANS | BECOME A SUBSCRIBER | ![](frills/nea_meteor_headline.gif) 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 25 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. ![](frills/galleries_meteor_headline.gif) - 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 |