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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: 462.3 km/sec
density: 0.7 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2245 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: A0
2210 UT Jan10
24-hr: A0
2210 UT Jan10
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2245 UT
Daily Sun: 10 Jan 08
The sun is blank--no sunspots. Credit: SOHO/MDI
Sunspot number: 0
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 10 Jan 2008
Far side of the Sun:
This holographic image reveals a possible sunspot on the far side of the sun. Image credit: SOHO/MDI
Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 0 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 2
quiet
explanation | more data
Current Auroral Oval:

Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/POES
Updated:
What is the auroral oval?
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 3.3 nT
Bz: 2.6 nT south
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2245 UT
Coronal Holes:
Earth is inside a solar wind stream flowing from the indicated coronal hole. Credit: SOHO Extreme UV Telescope
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts
Updated at: 2008 Jan 10 2202 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: 2008 Jan 10 2202 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
10 %
10 %
MINOR
05 %
05 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %
High latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
10 %
10 %
MINOR
05 %
05 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %

What's up in Space
January 10, 2008
Where's Saturn? Is that a UFO--or the ISS? What's the name of that star? Get the answers from mySKY--a fun new astronomy helper from Meade.

NO IMPACT: NASA scientists tracking asteroid 2007 WD5 say it will not hit Mars on Jan. 30th. "The impact probability has dropped dramatically, to approximately 0.01% or 1 in 10,000 odds, effectively ruling out the possible collision," according to an update issued yesterday by JPL's Near Earth Object Program Office: full story.

SUNSET MOON: Tonight, when the sun sets and the western sky fades to twilight blue, dash outside. You may see a sight like this:

Martin McKenna took the picture just hours ago from Maghera, N. Ireland. "The crescent Moon with earthshine was really beautiful," he says. Don't miss it!

more images: from Gary A. Becker of Coopersburg, PA; from Doug Zubenel of De Soto, Kansas; from Sam Cole of Austin, Texas; from Alvaro Garay of Casselberry, Florida; from Mark D. Marquette of Gray, Tennessee;

GREEN SNOW: Geography quiz: Where does the snow turn green at midnight? Answer: Nunavik, the Arctic homeland of Quebec's Inuit. On January 8th, just outside the village of Salluit, photographer Sylvain Serre photographed the phenomenon:


Photo details: Canon EOS 30D, 1600 ISO, 15 sec., f4.0

"These auroras were so bright," he says, they were reflected "in the ice and snow."

The display, overhead and underfoot, was sparked by a solar wind stream buffeting Earth's magnetic field. That same solar wind stream continues to blow, raising hopes for more green snow tonight. Sky watchers from Alaska to Quebec to Scandinavia should remain alert for auroras.

January 2008 Aurora Gallery
[World Map of Aurora Sightings]
[aurora alerts] [Night-sky Cameras]

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 January 10, 2008 there were 916 potentially hazardous asteroids.
Jan. 2008 Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Mag.
Size
2005 WJ56
Jan. 10
10.9 LD
11
1.2 km
1685 Toro
Jan. 24
76 LD
13
6.2 km
2007 TU24
Jan. 29
1.4 LD
10
400 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 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.
Solar and Heliospheric Observatory
  Realtime and archival images of the Sun from SOHO.
Daily Sunspot Summaries
  From the NOAA Space Environment Center
Current Solar Images
  from the National Solar Data Analysis Center
  more links...
©2008, SpaceWeather.com -- This site is penned daily by Dr. Tony Phillips.
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