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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: 309.1 km/sec
density: 0.8 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2246 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: A0
2110 UT Jun12
24-hr: A0
2110 UT Jun12
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2245 UT
Daily Sun: 12 Jun 08
Sunspot 998 poses no threat for strong solar flares. Credit: SOHO/MDI
Sunspot number: 11
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 11 June 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= 1 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 1
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: 3.0 nT
Bz: 0.9 nT south
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2246 UT
Coronal Holes:
A solar wind flowing from the indicated coronal hole should reach Earth on or about June 16th. Credit: SOHO Extreme UV Telescope
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts
Updated at: 2008 Jun 12 2203 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 Jun 12 2203 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
June 12, 2008
FATHER'S DAY: Skip the tie. This year, give Dad the stars -- a gift subscription to Space Weather PHONE.  

PLUTOID: In 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) announced that Pluto is not a planet. So what is it? After two years of careful deliberation, the IAU has an answer: Pluto is a plutoid. No, this is not a joke. The IAU offers "the plutoid" as a serious new category of celestial body. Read all about it in the June 11th press release. [comment]

DOUBLE FLYBY: Space shuttle Discovery and the International Space Station (ISS) are flying around Earth in tandem, resulting in some beautiful double-flyby sightings. Ben Cooper sends this picture of the two streaking through clouds over Daytona Beach, Florida, on June 11th:

"The ISS was the brightest I have ever seen it, while the shuttle was several magnitudes fainter," says Cooper. In the photo, "Discovery is the relatively dim streak just to the right of the ISS," he points out.

Double flybys continue tonight. Check our Satellite Tracker to see if your hometown is favored with an appearance.

more images: from Graham Palmer of Hastings, New Zealand; from NĂ©stor Camino of Esquel, Patagonia, Argentina; from Edward Staples of Waldo, Florida; from Gerald DeShirlia of Wimberley, Texas; from Loyd Overcash of Houston, Texas; from Hassan Alsabbar of Diwaniya, Iraq; from Tom King of Watauga, Texas;

PHOENIX UPDATE: Phoenix's oven is full of martian soil. For days, the clumpy red dirt had been stuck on a screen at the oven's door while engineers tried a variety of tricks to coax it onward. On June 10th, with little warning, the soil sifted through. "There's something very unusual about this soil," says Peter Smith of the University of Arizona. "We're interested in learning what sort of chemical and mineral activity has caused the particles to clump together." In the days ahead, Phoenix's mass spectrometer will "sniff" fumes from the oven and report the soil's composition. Stay tuned.

SAUCER DOWN: Put on your 3D glasses and see if you can identify the saucer-shaped object on Phoenix's southern horizon:

It is Phoenix's backshell, which held the parachute as Phoenix descended through the atmosphere. Just before jet-assisted touchdown, the backshell and 'chute were discarded and they landed some 300 meters downrange of Phoenix. "The parachute is not visible, probably because of the bumpy terrain," says graphic artist Patruck Vantuyne who created the anaglyph by combining right- and left-eye images from Phoenix's stereo camera. The complete panorama is a must-see; stare a while for full effect.

more anaglyphs: Arctic Vista, Mars Yeti, One small step..., Vines, Scoop Two.


May 2008 Aurora Gallery
[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. [comment]
On June 12, 2008 there were 957 potentially hazardous asteroids.
June-July 2008 Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Mag.
Size
2008 KO
June 1
4.4 LD
18
60 m
2008 KT
June 3
3.3 LD
20
9 m
2008 LB
June 9
3.3 LD
17
26 m
2008 LG2
June 13
9.2 LD
19
36 m
2008 LC
June 17
9.8 LD
18
55 m
2008 KN11
June 22
9.0 LD
18
110 m
2000 AD205
June 26
54 LD
17
800 m
1999 VU
June 29
65 LD
16
1.6 km
2008 BT18
July 14
5.9 LD
13
1.0 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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