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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: 575.2 km/sec
density: 1.8 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2245 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: A0
2245 UT Aug11
24-hr: A0
2245 UT Aug11
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2245 UT
Daily Sun: 11 Aug 08
The sun is blank--no sunspots. Credit: SOHO/MDI
Sunspot number: 0
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 09 Aug. 2008
Far side of the Sun:
This holographic image reveals no sunspots on the far side of the sun. Image credit: SOHO/MDI
Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 2 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 3
quiet
explanation | more data
Current Auroral Oval:
Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/POES
What is the auroral oval?
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 2.4 nT
Bz: 0.9 nT north
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2246 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 Aug 11 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: 2008 Aug 11 2201 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
05 %
05 %
MINOR
01 %
01 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %
High latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
05 %
05 %
MINOR
01 %
01 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %
What's up in Space
August 11, 2008
AURORA ALERTS: Did you miss the Northern Lights of July 12th? Next time get a wake-up call from Space Weather PHONE.  

PERSEID METEOR ALERT: The Perseid meteor shower is underway and should reach its peak during the next 24 hours. Forecasters say the best time to look is during the dark hours before dawn on Tuesday, August 12th. The glaring moon sets around 2:00 a.m., and that's when the Perseids will come out in numbers as high as 60 per hour. Get the full story from Science@NASA.

Perseid galleries: 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2002, 2001

EARLY PERSEIDS: This morning in New Mexico, amateur astronomer Thomas Ashcraft caught an early Perseid streaking over his radio observatory. "One of them had a dynamic and rippingly intricate sonic radio signature." Click on the image to listen:

The sounds you just heard are distant radio stations reflected from the the meteor's ionized trail. Try listening with headphones: 61 MHz echoes are in the left stereo channel, 83 MHz echoes in the right. "It has a very energetic sound," says Ashcraft.

Tonight he expects the echoes to increase in number and sonic beauty as the Perseid shower reaches its peak. Visit Ashcraft's website for updates.

more early Perseids: from Richard Alan Keen of Colorado: from Erwin Filimon of Gahberg Observatory, Upper-Austria, Europe; from Phillip Chee of Peterborough, Ontario, Canada;

WEEKEND AURORAS: A solar wind stream hit Earth on August 9th sparking geomagnetic storms over Canada and at least two US states. "I got a call from Spaceweather PHONE alerting me to the situation," says Bob Johnson of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. "I took my camera to a dark sky site and snapped some awesome pictures," including this shot of a meteor streaking through the Northern Lights:

The display has subsided, but another flare-up is possible. The solar wind continues to blow and NOAA forecasters estimate a 20% chance of more geomagnetic activity in the next 24 hours.

August 2008 Aurora Gallery
[Aurora Alerts] [Previous Augusts: '07, 06, 05, 04, 03, 02]

       
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 August 11, 2008 , there were 972 potentially hazardous asteroids.
August 2008 Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Mag.
Size
54509 YORP
Aug. 1
67 LD
22
130 m
2008 PK9
Aug. 11
11 LD
18
50 m
2008 ON10
Aug. 11
12 LD
19
50 m
2001 RT17
Aug. 14
69 LD
17
1.2 km
1991 VH
Aug. 15
18 LD
15
1.8 km
2008 MZ
Aug. 31
60 LD
17
1.1 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 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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