You are viewing the page for Nov. 7, 2010
  Select another date:
<<back forward>>
SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids
 
Solar wind
speed: 285.3 km/sec
density: 1.1 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2344 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: B3
1829 UT Nov07
24-hr: C5
0141 UT Nov07
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2300 UT
Daily Sun: 07 Nov 10
NOAA forecasters estimate a 20% chance of X-class flares from sunspot 1121 during the next 24 hours. Credit: SDO/HMI. 2-day movie: 7 MB mpg
Sunspot number: 43
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 06 Nov 2010

Spotless Days
Current Stretch: 0 days
2010 total: 45 days (14%)
2009 total: 260 days (71%)
Since 2004: 813 days
Typical Solar Min: 486 days

Updated 06 Nov 2010


The Radio Sun
10.7 cm flux: 89 sfu
explanation | more data
Updated 06 Nov 2010

Current Auroral Oval:
Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/POES
Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 1 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 1
quiet
explanation | more data
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 1.2 nT
Bz: 0.7 nT north
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2345 UT
Coronal Holes: 07 Nov 10
A solar wind stream flowing from the indicated coronal hole could brush past Earth's magnetic field around Nov. 10th. Credit: SDO/AIA.
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts
Updated at: 2010 Nov 07 2200 UTC
FLARE
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
CLASS M
85 %
85 %
CLASS X
20 %
20 %
Geomagnetic Storms:
Probabilities for significant disturbances in Earth's magnetic field are given for three activity levels: active, minor storm, severe storm
Updated at: 2010 Nov 07 2200 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
15 %
10 %
MINOR
01 %
01 %
SEVERE
01 %
09 %
High latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
20 %
15 %
MINOR
05 %
01 %
SEVERE
01 %
03 %
 
Sunday, Nov. 7, 2010
What's up in space
 

ON SALE NOW: The David H. Levy Comet Hunter -- offering the clearest views of Comet Hartley 2.

 

SHUTTLE LAUNCH DELAYED: NASA has announced a big delay in space shuttle Discovery's last flight. The next possible launch opportunity comes Nov. 30 at 4:05 a.m. EST. The cause of the delay is twofold: a persistent hydrogen leak and a possible crack in the shuttle's external tank foam. Check the launch blog for details.

M5 SOLAR FLARE: Active sunspot 1121 has unleashed one of the brightest x-ray solar flares in years, an M5.4-class eruption at 15:36 UT on Nov. 6th. Click on the image to view a movie of the blast from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory:

Radiation from the flare created a wave of ionization in Earth's upper atmosphere that altered the propagation of low-frequency radio waves. There was, however, no bright CME (plasma cloud) hurled in our direction, so the event is unlikely to produce auroras in the nights ahead. This is the third M-flare in as many days from this increasingly active sunspot. So far none of the eruptions has been squarely Earth-directed, but this could change in the days ahead as the sun's rotation turns the active region toward our planet. Now might be a good time to sign up for space weather alerts.

more images: from Thomas Ashcraft near Santa Fe, New Mexico; from Rogerio Marcon of Campinas SP Brasil; from Robert Arnold of Isle of Skye, Scotland; from James Kevin Ty of Manila, the Philippines;

NORTHERN LIGHTS: A minor geomagnetic storm on Nov. 4th made the ice crack in Norway. Actually, it was the weight of the photographer that did it. Ole Christian Salomonsen walked out on the water's frozen surface to get this shot:

"I had to walk out on the ice," he explains, "because there were so many trees on shore blocking the view. The temperature was below -10 degrees celsius. You could see your breath turning to steam, and it was really silent in the woods. The only thing you could hear was the ice cracking and freezing together--a really awesome sound! The crisp clear ice made a lovely surface for catching the aurora's reflections."

The next chance for a shot like this could come on Nov. 9th or 10th when a solar wind stream is expected to hit Earth's magnetic field. It's only a minor stream, but often that's enough for a vivid display around the Arctic Circle. High latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras.


October 2010 Aurora Gallery
[previous Octobers: 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001]

  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 November 7, 2010 there were 1157 potentially hazardous asteroids.
Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Mag.
Size
2010 TQ19
Oct 8
9.6 LD
18
37 m
2010 TS19
Oct 10
3.7 LD
18
31 m
2010 TD54
Oct 12
0.1 LD
14
7 m
2010 TB54
Oct 13
6.1 LD
20
19 m
1999 VO6
Oct 14
34.3 LD
16
1.8 km
2010 TK
Oct 16
4.5 LD
18
37 m
1998 TU3
Oct 17
69.1 LD
13
5.2 km
2010 TG19
Oct 22
1.1 LD
15
70 m
1998 MQ
Oct 23
77.7 LD
15
1.9 km
2007 RU17
Oct 29
39.2 LD
15
1.1 km
2003 UV11
Oct 30
5 LD
12
595 m
3838 Epona
Nov 7
76.8 LD
14
3.4 km
2005 QY151
Nov 16
77.7 LD
17
1.3 km
2008 KT
Nov 23
5.6 LD
21
10 m
2002 EZ16
Nov 30
73.9 LD
16
1.0 km
2000 JH5
Dec 7
47 LD
-
1.5 km
2010 JL33
Dec 9
16.6 LD
13
1.3 km
2008 EA32
Jan 7
76.5 LD
-
2.1 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
Science Central
   
  more links...
 
 
Fine astrophotography and gift cards by Alan Friedman
SolarAstronomy.org: outreach, imaging, and reviews
SunGazer.net
2010 Perseid meteor shower
Toys which are out of this world from SpaceToys.com
space weather alerts
outdoor lighting
Superior Labels - Out of this World!
Christmas Cards
satellite tracking
Compare air travel around the globe with Airfares Flights
Support SpaceWeather.com
©2010 Spaceweather.com. All rights reserved. This site is penned daily by Dr. Tony Phillips.

©2019 Spaceweather.com. All rights reserved.