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SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids
 
Solar wind
speed: 394.0 km/sec
density: 4.9 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2344 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: B2
2111 UT Jul01
24-hr: B5
0721 UT Jul01
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2300 UT
Daily Sun: 01 Jul 11
A new sunspot is emrging at the circled location. Credit: SDO/HMI
Sunspot number: 34
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 30 Jun 2011

Spotless Days
Current Stretch: 0 days
2011 total: 1 day (<1%)
2010 total: 51 days (14%)
2009 total: 260 days (71%)
Since 2004: 820 days
Typical Solar Min: 486 days

Updated 30 Jun 2011


The Radio Sun
10.7 cm flux: 89 sfu
explanation | more data
Updated 30 Jun 2011

Current Auroral Oval:
Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/POES
Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 2 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 4
unsettled
explanation | more data
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 4.5 nT
Bz: 1.7 nT north
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2345 UT
Coronal Holes: 01 Jul 11
A solar wind stream flowing from the indicated coronal hole should reach Earth on July 2nd. Credit: SDO/AIA.
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts
Updated at: 2011 Jul 01 2200 UTC
FLARE
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
CLASS M
01 %
01 %
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: 2011 Jul 01 2200 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
35 %
15 %
MINOR
05 %
01 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %
High latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
40 %
20 %
MINOR
10 %
05 %
SEVERE
05 %
01 %
 
Friday, Jul. 1, 2011
What's up in space
 

They came from outer space--and you can have one! Genuine meteorites are now on sale in the Space Weather Store.

 
Own your own meteorite

AURORA WATCH: NOAA forecasters estimate a 35% - 40% chance of geomagnetic activity on July 2nd when a solar wind stream is expected to hit Earth's magnetic field. High-latitude sky watchers, particularly those in the winter-dark southern hemisphere, should be alert for auroras.

UPDATE: The solar wind stream has not arrived yet. Nevertheless, geomagnetic disturbances are already sparking auroras around the Arctic circle.

4TH OF JULY SKY SHOW: Perfectly timed for the 4th of July holiday weekend, the International Space Station is beginning a series of evening flybys over the USA. Last night in Utah, hundreds of onlookers at the Bryce Canyon Astronomy Festival watched the brilliant spaceship bisect the Milky Way:

"The ISS made a bright appearance over the star party," says photographer John Stetson, "and it was well regarded. More than 750 are attending this year. Among the 40 telescopes available for public viewing, there was a 9" 1902 Alvin Clark refractor, a handmade 16' dobsonian, and a 24" dob. The festival and the star parties will continue on Friday and Saturday nights."

The ISS flybys will continue, too, all the way through the fireworks on Monday. Your cell phone can tell you exactly when to look. Also recommended: the Simple Satellite Tracker. Happy 4th of July!

more images: from Christopher Calubaquib of El Sobrante, California; from Paul Vladuchick of Mars, Pennsylvania;

INSTEAD OF THE ECLIPSE: "I could not make it to today's partial solar eclipse off the coast of Antarctica, but only 26 hours before the event I witnessed something just as beautiful," reports Jan Hattenbach from the Canary Islands. "On June 30th, the slender 1.4% crescent Moon met Venus for a wonderful conjunction in the early morning sky." (continued below)


Photo details: Canon EOS 450Da, 800 ASA, 1/3s exposure.

"At 7:00 am local time, the two bright celestial objects were seperated by just 0.31°," adds Hattenbach. "It was an stunning view, seen from the Roque de los Muchachos (2426m), home of the 'European Northern Observatory' on the island of La Palma, Spain!"

more Venus-Moonshots: from Pete Lawrence of Selsey, West Sussex, UK; from Imad Mojahed of Amman, Jordan


NEW: 2011 Noctilucent Cloud Gallery
[previous years: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009]


June 2011 Aurora Gallery
[Aurora alerts: text, voice] [previous Junes: 2010, 2008, 2001]


June 15th Lunar Eclipse Gallery

  Near Earth Asteroids
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 is on a collision course with our planet, although astronomers are finding new ones all the time.
On July 1, 2011 there were 1237 potentially hazardous asteroids.
Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Mag.
Size
2011 MD
Jun 27
0.05 LD
--
10 m
2011 GA55
Jul 6
64.1 LD
--
1.0 km
2011 EZ78
Jul 10
37.3 LD
--
1.6 km
2003 YS117
Jul 14
73.9 LD
--
1.0 km
2007 DD
Jul 23
9.3 LD
--
31 m
2003 BK47
Jul 26
77.6 LD
--
1.0 km
2009 AV
Aug 22
49.7 LD
--
1.1 km
2003 QC10
Sep 18
50 LD
--
1.2 km
2004 SV55
Sep 19
67.5 LD
--
1.2 km
2007 TD
Sep 23
3.8 LD
--
58 m
2002 AG29
Oct 9
77.1 LD
--
1.0 km
2000 OJ8
Oct 13
49.8 LD
--
2.5 km
2009 TM8
Oct 17
1.1 LD
--
8 m
Notes: LD means "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 Weather Prediction Center
  The official U.S. government space weather bureau
Atmospheric Optics
  The first place to look for information about sundogs, pillars, rainbows and related phenomena.
Solar Dynamics Observatory
  Researchers call it a "Hubble for the sun." SDO is the most advanced solar observatory ever.
STEREO
  3D views of the sun from NASA's Solar and Terrestrial Relations Observatory
Solar and Heliospheric Observatory
  Realtime and archival images of the Sun from SOHO.
Daily Sunspot Summaries
  from the NOAA Space Environment Center
Heliophysics
  the underlying science of space weather
Science Central
 
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