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SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids

SpaceWeather.com
Science news and information about the Sun-Earth environment.

SPACE WEATHER
Current
Conditions

Solar Wind
speed: 445.2 km/s
density: 0.5 protons/cm³
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2244 UT

X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: B2 1935 UT Jan12
24-hr: C1 0135 UT Jan12
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2245 UT

Daily Sun: 12 Jan '07

Neither of these sunspots pose a threat for strong solar flares. Credit: SOHO/MDI

Sunspot Number: 45
What is the sunspot number?
Updated: 11 Jan 2007

Far Side of the Sun

This holographic image reveals one medium-sized sunspot on the far side of the sun. Image credit: SOHO/MDI

Interplanetary Mag. Field
B_total: 5.1 nT
B_z: 0.2 nT south
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 1624 UT

Coronal Holes:

A solar wind stream flowing from the indicated coronal hole should reach Earth on Jan. 15th or 16th. Credit: SOHO Extreme UV Telescope

SPACE WEATHER
NOAA
Forecasts
Solar Flares: Probabilities for a medium-sized (M-class) or a major (X-class) solar flare during the next 24/48 hours are tabulated below.
Updated at 2007 Jan 12 2203 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 2007 Jan 12 2203 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	15 %	15 %
MINOR	10 %	10 %
SEVERE	05 %	05 %

What's Up in Space -- 12 Jan 2007
Subscribe to Space Weather News

Did you sleep through the auroras of Dec. 14th? Next time get a wake-up call: Spaceweather PHONE.

GREAT COMET: Comet McNaught is getting very close to the sun, right inside the glare of sunset. But you might be able to see it anyway, because this is the brightest comet in 30 years.

"I thought the comet would be very hard to see tonight--not so," says Mila Zinkova of San Francisco, California, on Jan. 11th. "I watched McNaught for a long time in the company of this hunting hawk."

Photo details: Canon XTI, 300mm lens, f5.6, iso100, exposure 1/13 sec

"The comet was much brighter this evening," agrees Chris Cook of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. "I picked it up with my eye only seven minutes after sunset on Jan. 11th. "I estimate the magnitude at around -3. Truly a view to remember: image."

Note to sky watchers: Having trouble finding the comet? Scan the sunset with binoculars. Once found, McNaught is easy to track. Do not try this, however, until the sun is safely below the horizon.

Comet McNaught Photo Gallery
[finder chart] [ephemeris] [3D orbit]

THE VIEW FROM SPACE: Here on Earth we struggle with the sunset. That's no problem for SOHO. The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory is in space and has a crystal-clear view of the sun 24 hours a day. Comet McNaught has just entered the spacecraft's field of view:

This image was captured by SOHO's coronagraph--a device that blocks the glare of the sun to reveal nearby stars, planets and comets. In the days ahead, Comet McNaught will slice across the scene, tail in full view, making a close encounter with Mercury on Jan. 14th. Stay tuned!

THIS JUST IN: NASA's STEREO-B spacecraft has also spotted Comet McNaught. Click here for images.

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 12 Jan 2007 there were 832 known Potentially
Hazardous Asteroids

Jan 2007 Earth-asteroid encounters

ASTEROID	DATE (UT)	MISS DISTANCE	MAG.	SIZE
2006 UQ17	Jan. 2	11 LD	16	175 m
1991 VK	Jan. 21	26 LD	15	2.0 km
5011 Ptah	Jan. 21	77 LD	15	1.6 km
2006 CJ	Jan. 31	10 LD	~16	385 m
2006 AM4	Feb. 1	5.2 LD	16	180 m

Notes: LD is a "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 Environment 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. (European Mirror Site)

Daily Sunspot Summaries -- from the NOAA Space Environment Center.

Current Solar Images -- from the National Solar Data Analysis Center

X-ray images of the Sun: GOES-12 and GOES-13

Recent Solar Events -- a summary of current solar conditions from lmsal.com.

What is the Magnetosphere?

The Lion Roars -- visit this site to find out what the magnetosphere sounds like.

List of Potentially Hazardous Asteroids -- from the Harvard Minor Planet Center.

Observable Comets -- from the Harvard Minor Planet Center.

Real-time Solar Wind Data -- from NASA's ACE spacecraft.

How powerful are solar wind gusts? Not very! Read this story from Science@NASA.

More Real-time Solar Wind Data -- from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory Proton Monitor.

Lists of Coronal Mass Ejections -- from 1996 to 2006

Mirages: Mirages in Finland; An Introduction to Mirages;

NOAA Solar Flare and Sunspot Data: 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999; 2000; 2001; 2002; 2003; 2004; 2005; Jan-Mar 2006; Apr-Jun 2006; Jul-Sep 2006; Oct-Dec 2006.

This site is penned daily by Dr. Tony Phillips: email