|   SPACE WEATHER
Current
Conditions
Solar Wind
speed: 329.8 km/s
density:1.5 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2255 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: C8 2055 UT Feb27
24-hr: M1 1555 UT Feb27
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2245 UT
Daily Sun: 27 Feb '02 
Active region 9830 (very near the Sun's south-western limb) has a beta-gamma magnetic field that poses a threat for M-class solar flares. Image credit: SOHO/MDI
The Far Side of the Sun
This holographic image reveals a pair of sunspots on the far side of the Sun. Image credit: SOHO/MDI
Sunspot Number: 223
More about sunspots
Updated: 26 Feb 2002 Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 4.7 nT
Bz: 1.5 nT north
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2246 UT Coronal Holes:
A new coronal hole is emerging near the Sun's eastern limb. Image credit: SOHO Extreme UV Telescope.
More about coronal holes
Radio Meteor Rate
24 hr max: 20 per hr
Listen to the Meteor Radar!
Updated: 27 Feb 2002
 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 2002 Feb 27 2200 UT
| FLARE | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | | CLASS M | 40 % | 40 % | | 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 2002 Feb 27 2200 UT 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 | 20 % | 20 % | | MINOR | 05 % | 05 % | | SEVERE | 01 % | 01 % |
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VPS Hosting | What's Up in Space -- 27 Feb 2002
Subscribe to Space Weather News! MOONSHINE: Today's full Moon is the biggest and brightest of 2002. Read the full story from Science@NASA.  SUN LOOPS: Sunspot group 9830 is rotating over the Sun's western limb and will soon vanish from sight. On Feb. 27th, SOHO's extreme-ultraviolet telescope recorded this image of hot gas trapped in magnetic loops above the active region. The lines of magnetic force traced by the glowing gas harbor energy for possible M-class solar flares.
RING AROUND THE MOON: Winter is a good time to spot halos in the sky. This one, recorded by Brian Sherrod on Feb. 25th, was formed by moonlight reflected from ice crystals in high-altitude clouds over Arkansas. Similar halos can appear during the day -- around the Sun.  THE MOON & JUPITER: Earth's Moon and the giant planet Jupiter had a close encounter in the sky on Feb. 22 and 23, 2002. After sunset on Friday, Feb. 22, North Americans saw the eye-catching pair less than one Moon-width apart. Then, on Saturday morning, Feb. 23, Europeans watched as the Moon passed directly in front of Jupiter -- an event astronomers call a "lunar occultation." [gallery] 
Thierry Legault captured this image from Paris, France. GONE SATURN: Sky watchers in North America witnessed a beautiful lunar occultation on Feb. 20, 2002, when the Moon moved in front of Saturn and its mysterious rings. Visit our gallery! 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 27 Feb 2002 there were 383 known Potentially
Hazardous Asteroids Feb.-Mar. 2002 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. ASTEROID FLYBY: On Feb. 6, 2002, newly-discovered asteroid 2002 BG25 flew past Earth. There was no danger of a collision; the 400-meter wide space rock was 20 times farther away than the Moon. Asteroid watcher John Rogers captured these videos of the flyby from the Camarillo Observatory near Los Angeles: 1.0 MB (asf); 1.8 MB (mpg); 4.3 MB (mpg). 
- HOT COMET: Periodic comet 96P/Machholz put on a dazzling show as it swung by the Sun on Jan. 8, 2002.
- ASTEROID FLYBY: Asteroid 2001 YB5 raced past Earth on Jan. 7, 2002, only two times farther away than the Moon. [gallery]
- SUBTLE ECLIPSE: The Moon dipped into the outskirts of Earth's shadow on Dec. 30, 2001. [gallery]
- MOON & SATURN: The Moon keeps getting in the way of Saturn! See the series of close encounters here.
- CHRISTMAS LIGHTS: On Christmas Eve, 2001, a solar wind stream triggered Northern Lights. [gallery]
- SOLAR ECLIPSE: Sky watchers in Hawaii and most parts of North America experienced a partial solar eclipse on Dec. 14th. [gallery]
- BRIGHT ASTEROID: Videos and images of 1998 WT24 -- a big and bright near-Earth asteroid that came close to our planet on Dec. 16, 2001. [gallery]
- NORTHERN LIGHTS: On Nov. 24th a pair of coronal mass ejections swept past Earth and triggered worldwide auroras.
- LEONIDS 2001: Some people saw it. Others heard it. In either case, they'll never forget it: The 2001 Leonid meteor storm.
- 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]
- 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]
 Nov. 7 , 2001: What Lies beneath a Sunspot -- Awesome plasma hurricanes were one of the surprises revealed when scientists peered beneath the stormy surface of our star. Nov. 7 , 2001: What Lies beneath a Sunspot -- Awesome plasma hurricanes were one of the surprises revealed when scientists peered beneath the stormy surface of our star. Oct. 26 , 2001: 'tis the Season for Auroras -- Autumn is a good time to spot Northern Lights. Oct. 17, 2001: Halley's Comet Returns ... in bits and pieces -- The annual Orionid meteor shower peaks on October 21st. Aug. 9, 2001: Horse Flies and Meteors -- Like bugs streaking down the side window of a moving car, long and colorful Perseid Earthgrazers could put on a remarkable show on August 11th. 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. |
