SPACE WEATHER Current Conditions Solar Wind velocity: 467.0 km/s density:2.1 protons/cm3 explanation | more data Updated: Today at 2248 UT X-ray Solar Flares 6-hr max: M1 2100 UT Mar29 24-hr: X1 1015 UT Mar29 explanation | more data Updated: Today at 2250 UT Daily Sun: 29 Mar '01 The large sunspot group 9393 exhibits a delta magnetic field that likely harbors energy for X-class solar flares. Sunspot groups 9396 and 9397, with a beta-gamma magnetic field, are also a threat for M-class flares. Sunspot Number: 352 More about sunspots Updated: 28 Mar 2001 Radio Meteor Rate 24 hr max: 29 per hr Listen to the Meteor Radar! Updated: 29 Mar 2001 Interplanetary Mag. Field Btotal: 4.0 nT Bz: 0.9 nT south explanation | more data Updated: Today at 2248 UT Coronal Holes: The only coronal hole on the Sun today is near the south pole; it is not favorably positioned to send solar wind streams toward Earth. 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 Mar 29 2200 UT FLARE | 24 hr | 48 hr | CLASS M | 80 % | 80 % | CLASS X | 30 % | 30 % | 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 Mar 29 2200 UT Mid-latitudes | 24 hr | 48 hr | ACTIVE | 30 % | 20 % | MINOR | 40 % | 50 % | SEVERE | 20 % | 25 % | High latitudes | 24 hr | 48 hr | ACTIVE | 20 % | 10 % | MINOR | 40 % | 40 % | SEVERE | 30 % | 40 % | | What's Up in Space -- 29 Mar 2001 Subscribe to Space Weather News! X-FLARE: A powerful X-class solar flare erupted near sunspot group 9393 on March 29th at 1015 UT. The blast sent a coronal mass ejection (CME) toward Earth -- the second in as many days. The first of the two incoming CMEs will likely hit Earth's magnetosphere on Friday; today's expanding cloud will probably arrive on Saturday. Above: a SOHO coronagraph animation of the March 29th halo CME. Forecasters estimate a 15 to 25% chance of severe geomagnetic storming in the days ahead. Sky watchers living above ~45 deg. geomagnetic latitude should remain alert for auroras after local nightfall until further notice. [NOAA geomagnetic latitude maps: North America, Eurasia, South Africa & Australia, South America] GIANT SUNSPOT: The fast-growing sunspot 9393 now covers an area of the solar disk thirteen equivalent to the surface area of 13 planet Earths. That makes it the largest sunspot of the current solar cycle. You can see this huge spot for yourself, but be careful: Looking directly at the Sun can cause permanent eye damage. Click to learn more about safe solar observing. NORTHERN LIGHTS: The past two weeks have been a good time for northern sky watchers as one coronal mass ejection (CME) after another buffeted Earth's magnetosphere. On Tuesday, March 27th, two CMEs passed our planet on the same day! To view recent photos of Northern Lights from Alaska and other parts of the world, please visit the spaceweather.com AURORA 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. [more] On 29 Mar 2001 there were 296 known Potentially Hazardous Asteroids NEW DISCOVERIES: Harvard's Minor Planet Center has announced a small flurry of new asteroid discoveries in recent days. Since March 23rd, astronomers have spotted four Earth-approaching space rocks: 2001 FD58, 2001 FC58, 2001 FA58 and 2001 FO32. There is no danger of a collision with any of these asteroids. Earth-asteroid encounters (Mar 1 - Apr 30) - 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]
Feb. 21, 2001: Nature's Tiniest Space Junk -- Using an experimental radar at the Marshall Space Flight Center, 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 |