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Science news and information about the Sun-Earth environment.

SPACE WEATHER
Current
Conditions

Solar Wind
speed: km/s
density: protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at UT

X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: UT
24-hr: UT
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at UT

Daily Sun: 06 Dec '04
None of these small sunspots pose a threat for strong solar flares. Image credit: SOHO/MDI

The Far Side of the Sun
This holographic image reveals no large sunspots on the far side of the Sun. Image credit: SOHO/MDI

Sunspot Number:
What is the sunspot number?
Updated:

Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: nT
Bz: nT
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at UT

Coronal Holes:

A gust of solar wind flowing from the indicated coronal hole might buffet Earth's magnetic field on Dec. 8th. Image credit: SOHO's Extreme UV Telescope

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
FLARE 0-24 hr 24-48 hr
CLASS M % %
CLASS X % %

Geomagnetic Storms: Probabilities for significant disturbances in Earth's magnetic field are given for three activity levels: active, minor storm, severe storm
Updated at
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr 24-48 hr
ACTIVE % %
MINOR % %
SEVERE % %

High latitudes
0-24 hr 24-48 hr
ACTIVE % %
MINOR % %
SEVERE % %

What's Up in Space --
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NO AURORAS: A coronal mass ejection (movie) hit Earth's magnetic field on Dec. 5th, but its weak impact did not spark a geomagnetic storm. Auroras are unlikely tonight.

Did you miss the intense auroras of Nov. 7th? Next time get a phone call. Sign up for SpaceWeather PHONE.

LUNAR OCCULTATION: Before sunrise on Tuesday, Dec. 7th, the crescent Moon will eclipse Jupiter--a beautiful sight. Astronomers call this a "lunar occultation" and you can see it if you live in the eastern two-thirds of North America. [full story] [sky map] [timetable]

SOLAR ACTIVITY: Solar maximum is long gone yet lately "the sun has been spectacular," says Jack Newton who took this picture of a towering solar prominence on Dec. 3rd:

Prominences are ribbons of hot glowing gas held together by solar magnetic fields. This one is big enough to swallow dozens of planet Earths and it's likely to persist for days to come.

DIAMOND DUST: On Dec. 2nd, Lisa Arrigo stepped onto the back deck of her Utah home and saw a glittering rainbow materialize in front of her. She snapped this picture, which also captured a sparking pillar of light underneath the morning sun:

Atmospheric optics expert Les Cowley explains: "When it is really cold outside, the air can be full of ice crystals normally only present in high cirrus clouds. You are surrounded by tiny flashing jewels -- diamond dust. They made this sundog and lower sun pillar. Look closely to see their individual glints. Last month some extremely rare halos were seen in displays produced by crystals from ski slope snow machines. If you are near one, look out for halos and have a camera ready for the rarities!"



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 there were 653 known Potentially
Hazardous Asteroids

Nov.-Dec. 2004 Earth-asteroid encounters
ASTEROID

 DATE (UT)

 MISS DISTANCE

 MAG.
2004 TP1

Nov. 2

13 LD

 15
2004 UE

Nov. 9

10 LD

 15
2004 RZ164

Dec. 8

7 LD

 12
2004 VW14

Dec. 24

5 LD

 13
Notes: 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.

Essential Web Links

NOAA Space Environment Center -- The official U.S. government bureau for real-time monitoring of solar and geophysical events, research in solar-terrestrial physics, and forecasting solar and geophysical disturbances.

Atmospheric Optics -- the first place to look for information about sundogs, pillars, rainbows and related phenomena. See also Snow Crystals.

Solar and Heliospheric Observatory -- Realtime and archival images of the Sun from SOHO. (European Mirror Site)

Daily Sunspot Summaries -- from the NOAA Space Environment Center.

Current Solar Images --a gallery of up-to-date solar pictures from the National Solar Data Analysis Center at the Goddard Space Flight Center. See also the GOES-12 Solar X-ray Imager.

Recent Solar Events -- a nice summary of current solar conditions from lmsal.com.

SOHO Farside Images of the Sun from SWAN and MDI.

The Latest SOHO Coronagraph Images -- from the Naval Research Lab

The Sun from Earth -- daily images of our star from the Big Bear Solar Observatory

List of Potentially Hazardous Asteroids -- from the Harvard Minor Planet Center.

Observable Comets -- from the Harvard Minor Planet Center.

What is the Interplanetary Magnetic Field? -- A lucid answer from the University of Michigan. See also the Anatomy of Earth's Magnetosphere.

Real-time Solar Wind Data -- from NASA's ACE spacecraft. How powerful are solar wind gusts? Read this story from Science@NASA.

More Real-time Solar Wind Data -- from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory Proton Monitor.

Aurora Forecast --from the University of Alaska's Geophysical Institute

Daily Solar Flare and Sunspot Data -- from the NOAA Space Environment Center.

Lists of Coronal Mass Ejections -- from 1998 to 2001

What is an Iridium flare? See also Photographing Satellites by Brian Webb.

Vandenberg AFB missile launch schedule.

What is an Astronomical Unit, or AU?

Mirages: Mirages in Finland; An Introduction to Mirages;

NOAA Solar Flare and Sunspot Data: 1999; 2000; 2001; 2002; 2003; Jan-Mar., 2004;

Space Audio Streams: (University of Florida) 20 MHz radio emissions from Jupiter: #1, #2, #3, #4; (NASA/Marshall) INSPIRE: #1; (Stan Nelson of Roswell, New Mexico) meteor radar: #1, #2;

Recent International Astronomical Union Circulars

GLOSSARY | SPACE WEATHER TUTORIAL

This site is penned daily by Dr. Tony Phillips: email

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