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SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids
 
Solar wind
speed: 377.5 km/sec
density: 0.7 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2346 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: C2
1708 UT Apr07
24-hr: C2
1708 UT Apr07
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2300 UT
Daily Sun: 07 Apr 12
With only one significant spot on the Earthside of the sun, solar activity is low. Credit: SDO/HMI
Sunspot number: 39
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 06 Apr 2012

Spotless Days
Current Stretch: 0 days
2012 total: 0 days (0%)
2011 total: 2 days (<1%)
2010 total: 51 days (14%)
2009 total: 260 days (71%)
Since 2004: 821 days
Typical Solar Min: 486 days

Updated 06 Apr 2012


The Radio Sun
10.7 cm flux: 97 sfu
explanation | more data
Updated 06 Apr 2012

Current Auroral Oval:
Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/POES
Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 0 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 3
quiet
explanation | more data
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 4.6 nT
Bz: 1.6 nT south
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2347 UT
Coronal Holes: 06 Apr 12
A wide equatorial coronal hole is turning toward Earth. Solar wind flowing from the dark gash should arrive on April 12-13. Credit: SDO/AIA.
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts
Updated at: 2012 Apr 07 2200 UTC
FLARE
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
CLASS M
05 %
05 %
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: 2012 Apr 07 2200 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
10 %
25 %
MINOR
01 %
15 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %
High latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
15 %
30 %
MINOR
10 %
25 %
SEVERE
05 %
10 %
 
Saturday, Apr. 7, 2012
What's up in space
 

Thirty-five new items have just been added to our Meteorite Jewelry collection. Browse the Space Weather Store for something out of this world.

 
Meteorite jewelry

INCOMING CME: NOAA forecasters estimate a 25% chance of strong geomagnetic storms around the poles on April 8-9 when a CME delivers a glancing blow to Earth's magnetic field. The cloud was propelled in our direction by a solar filament, which erupted on April 5th (movie). High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras. Aurora alerts: text, phone.

EGG MOON: Last night's full Moon, the first full Moon of northern spring, is sometimes called the "Egg Moon" because of its association with Easter. As it watched the moon rise over Cape Elizabeth, Maine, photographer John Stetson didn't think it looked much like an egg--that is, until he tilted his head 90 degrees:

"The earth's atmosphere provided beautiful color and distorted the shape of our moon as it appeared on the horizon," says Stetson. "The red rim on the lower part of the moon and the green rim on the upper part of the moon was particularly evident tonight. Many observers shared this view at the eyepiece. Happy Easter to all."

more images: from Anthony Ayiomamitis of Athens, Greece; from Will Wickham of Corning, NY; from Fritz Helmut Hemmerich of Tenerife, Canary Islands;

WEEKEND AURORAS: Last night, April 6-7, parts of the high Artic Circle were alight with auroras so bright even the full Moon couldn't overwhelm them. In the village of Ivujivik, Nunavik (Canada), many of the luminous formations reminded onlooker Gilles Boutin of flowers:

"Voici les Auroras flower of Nunavik," says Boutin. "J`ai capté les aurores au zénith soit des couronnes boréales alors voici de magnifiques fleurs boréales de Ivujivik, Nunavik."

More auroras are possible on April 8th and 9th when a CME is expected to hit Earth's magnetic field. NOAA forecastesr estimate a 25% chance of strong geomagnetic storms around the poles. Aurora alerts: text, phone.

more images: from Yuichi Takasaka of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada; from Shawn Malone of Marquette, Michigan; from Michael Noble of Cooking Lake, SE of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

  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 April 7, 2012 there were 1287 potentially hazardous asteroids.
Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Mag.
Size
2012 FA57
Apr 4
1.1 LD
--
27 m
2012 GD
Apr 10
9.4 LD
--
18 m
1996 SK
Apr 18
67.2 LD
--
1.6 km
2007 HV4
Apr 19
4.8 LD
--
8 m
2011 WV134
Apr 28
38.6 LD
--
1.6 km
1992 JD
May 2
9.5 LD
--
43 m
2010 KK37
May 19
2.3 LD
--
31 m
4183 Cuno
May 20
47.4 LD
--
5.7 km
2002 VX94
May 26
72.8 LD
--
1.1 km
2002 AC
Jun 16
62.2 LD
--
1.2 km
1999 BJ8
Jun 16
68.8 LD
--
1.1 km
2005 GO21
Jun 21
17.1 LD
--
2.2 km
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
Trade Show Displays
   
  more links...
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