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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: 475.9 km/s
density:
4.0 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2246 UT

X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max:
C2 1710 UT Dec17
24-hr: C2 1710 UT Dec17
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2245 UT

Daily Sun: 17 Dec '06

Departing sunspot 930 has a "beta-gamma-delta" magnetic field that harbors energy for X-class solar flares. Credit:
SOHO/MDI

Sunspot Number: 20
What is the sunspot number?
Updated: 16 Dec 2006

Far Side of the Sun

This holographic image reveals no large sunspots on the far side of the sun. Image credit: SOHO/MDI

Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 2.3 nT
Bz:
1.4 nT north
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2247 UT

Coronal Holes:

A solar wind stream flowing from the indicated coronal hole could reach Earth on Dec. 20th. 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 2006 Dec 17 2203 UTC
FLARE 0-24 hr 24-48 hr
CLASS M 25 % 15 %
CLASS X 05 % 05 %

Geomagnetic Storms: Probabilities for significant disturbances in Earth's magnetic field are given for three activity levels: active, minor storm, severe storm
Updated at 2006 Dec 17 2203 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr 24-48 hr
ACTIVE 25 % 25 %
MINOR 10 % 10 %
SEVERE 01 % 01 %

High latitudes
0-24 hr 24-48 hr
ACTIVE 30 % 30 %
MINOR 15 % 15 %
SEVERE 01 % 01 %

What's Up in Space -- 17 Dec 2006
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Would you like a call when auroras appear over your hometown? Sign up for Spaceweather PHONE.

BEAUTIFUL FOREST: Readers, if you have a solar telescope, take a look at the eastern limb of the sun today. Sean Walker of Chester, New Hampshire, reports "a beautiful forest of prominences" there. He took this picture using his Coronado PST.

THE STORM IS OVER: A coronal mass ejection hit Earth on Dec. 16th, but the glancing impact failed to re-energize geomagnetic activity. The severe magnetic storm of Dec. 14th is truly finished.

But you can still enjoy the auroras. Our gallery contains photos from Alaska to Arizona, and all points in between:

Above: "Just after sunset on Dec. 14th, the auroras came out in full glory--a brief but excellent display," says photographer Chris VenHaus of North Prairie, Wisconsin. "The partially frozen lake was a nice bonus."

December 2006 Aurora Gallery
Updated: December 17th

GOODBYE... and thanks for the X-flares. Sunspot 930 announced itself on Dec. 5th with one of the strongest flares in years--an X9, followed by an X6 on Dec. 6th, an X3 on Dec. 13th and an X1 on Dec. 14th. Not bad for solar minimum!

Now the spot is departing. The sun's rotation is carrying it toward the western limb where it disappear from view in a day or so. Rogerio Marcon of Brasil took this picture on Dec. 16th:


Photo details: 150 mm refractor, Herschel Wedge, SolarMax40.

As soon as sunspot 930 is out of sight, solar activity will return to low levels. Stay tuned for quiet.

more images: from John Stetson of Falmouth, Maine; from John Nassr of Baguio, Philippines; from Peter Paice of Belfast, Northern Ireland; from Sean Walker of Chester, New Hampshire.



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 17 Dec 2006 there were 836 known Potentially
Hazardous Asteroids

Dec 2006 Earth-asteroid encounters
ASTEROID

 DATE
(UT)

MISS DISTANCE

MAG.

 SIZE
2006 WQ127

Dec. 2

7.9 LD

19

~94 m
2006 WB

Dec. 5

7.0 LD

17

~130 m
2004 XL14

Dec. 20

10.1 LD

15

~225 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: 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


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