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SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids
SPACE WEATHER
Current conditions
Solar wind
speed: 296.8 km/sec
density: 0.5 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2345 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: B1
1835 UT Jun03
24-hr: B1
1835 UT Jun03
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2340 UT
Daily Sun: 03 June 09
Sunspot 1019 is a member of new Solar Cycle 24. Credit: SOHO/MDI
Sunspot number: 19
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 02 Jun 2009

Spotless Days
Current Stretch: 0 days
2009 total: 123 days (80%)
Since 2004: 634 days
Typical Solar Min: 485 days
explanation | more info
Updated 02 Jun 2009

Far side of the Sun:
This holographic image reveals no large sunspots on the far side of the sun. Image credit: SOHO/MDI
Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 2 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 2
quiet
explanation | more data
Current Auroral Oval:
Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/POES
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 6.6 nT
Bz: 2.6 nT north
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2345 UT
Coronal Holes:
There are no coronal holes on the Earth-facing side of the sun. Credit: SOHO Extreme UV Telescope
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts
Updated at: 2009 Jun 03 2201 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: 2009 Jun 03 2201 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
15 %
10 %
MINOR
05 %
05 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %
High latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
15 %
10 %
MINOR
05 %
05 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %
What's up in Space
June 3, 2009

AURORA ALERT: Did you sleep through the Northern Lights? Next time get a wake-up call: Spaceweather PHONE.

 

SOLAR CYCLE PREDICTION: An international panel of experts says Solar Cycle 24 will peak in May 2013 with a below-average number of sunspots. Get the full story from Science@NASA.

MAGNETIC MAELSTROM: "Sunspot 1019 continues to put on a show," reports astronomer Pete Lawrence of Selsey UK. "Two distinct main spots are visible with a number of smaller pores scattered around a vast field of magnetic fibrils. The view through an H-alpha 'scope is stunning."

Since the sunspot emerged on May 31st, it has rapidly grown and reorganized itself into the double spot visible today: movie. The region is crackling with A- and B-class solar flares, which nicely highlight the sunspot's surroundings for astrophotographers. Readers, if you have a solar telescope, take a look!

more images: from B. Atkins, P. Fitzpatrick and J. Stetson of South Portland, Maine; from Etienne Lecoq of Mesnil Panneville Normandy, France; from Jérôme Grenier of Paris, France; from Peter Paice of Belfast, Northern Ireland; from Pavol Rapavy of Observatory Rimavska Sobota, Slovakia; from Ehsan Rostamizadeh of Kerman, Iran; from Steve Wainwright of Swansea S.Wales, UK; from Howard Eskildsen of Ocala, Florida

THINGS YOU CAN SEE AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT: "Yesterday, I pulled up to a traffic light in Florida. Right there in front of me I saw the space shuttle flying across the sky on top of a NASA 747," reports George Fetter of Daytona Beach. "I'm just glad I had my trusty Nikon D50 sitting on my passenger seat!" His first shot caught the piggy-backed spaceship emerging from behind a green light:

Quickly, he pulled to the verge and zoomed in for a closer look. "It was Atlantis returning home to Florida from the Hubble repair mission (STS-125)," he says.

On May 24th, bad weather over Florida forced Atlantis to land at Edwards Air Force Base in California. That set the stage for a 2,500-mile cross-country ferry flight. Fetter spotted Atlantis near the end of the journey, less than an hour before it touched down at the Kennedy Space Center.

With the STS-125 mission finally completed, NASA's shuttle team is shifting its attention to the next flight, space shuttle Endeavor's STS-127 mission to the International Space Station. Among other things, Endeavour will deliver a new "space porch" for Japan's Kibo science lab. Experiments that require, e.g., hard vacuum can then be placed out on the porch for direct exposure to space. Liftoff is tentatively scheduled for June 13th.


April 2009 Aurora Gallery
[previous Aprils: 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002]


Explore the Sunspot Cycle

       
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 June 3, 2009 there were 1061 potentially hazardous asteroids.
June 2009 Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Mag.
Size
2009 KR21
June 1
0.7 LD
16
21 m
2009 KL8
June 1
5.1 LD
18
63 m
2003 QO104
June 9
36.8 LD
14
2.9 km
1994 CC
June 10
6.6 LD
13
1.2 km
2001 FE90
June 28
7.0 LD
13
435 m
2002 KL6
June 28
57.5 LD
16
1.4 km
2006 MV1
June 30
9.6 LD
23
20 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 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 and Heliospheric Observatory
  Realtime and archival images of the Sun from SOHO.
STEREO
  3D views of the sun from NASA's Solar and Terrestrial Relations Observatory
Daily Sunspot Summaries
  from the NOAA Space Environment Center
Current Solar Images
  from the National Solar Data Analysis Center
Science Central
   
  more links...
   
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