Hang the Transit of Venus on your wall! Hubble-quality images from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory are now available as metallic posters in the Space Weather Store. | | |
MARTIAN MARATHON: More than 8 years after landing on the Red Planet, Mars rover Opportunity is still running. Indeed, mission planners say the tireless robot is poised to complete a full marathon--the first ever long-distance race on an alien planet. [full story] [video]
SLOW EXPLOSION: Sunspot complex AR1520-1521 erupted on July 17th, producing an M1-class flare that unfolded slowly over a period of hours. Slow explosions often produce CMEs, and this one was no exception. Click on the image to view a movie of the bright, massive cloud recorded by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory:
According to a forecast track prepared by analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab, the CME will hit Venus on July 19th and could deliver a glancing blow to Earth on July 20th. The impact could re-energize but not rival the spectacular light show of July 14th through 16th. Aurora alerts: text, voice.
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
NOCTILUCENT CLOUDS IN MOTION: "Last night some nice noctilucent clouds appeared over Stockholm," reports Swedish photographer Peter Rosen. "Watching NLCs this summer has made me take an interest in their intricate movements--so I decided to create some close-up timelapse movies using a telephoto lens." Click on the image to set the scene in motion:
"What looked like a serene view from a distance behaves more like a stormy sea with wave after wave rolling in," he observes.
When NLCs first appeared in the 19th century, the mysterious clouds were confined to the Arctic, most often seen in the same places as Northern Lights. In recent years, however, their "habitat" has been expanding, rippling as far south as Colorado, Virginia, Kansas, and Utah. There is growing evidence that the expansion is a sign of climate change, although this remains controversial.
Whatever the reason for the expansion, it means the "stormy sea" could be coming to a sky near you. Observing tips: Look west 30 to 60 minutes after sunset when the sun has dipped 6o to 16o below the horizon. If you see electric-blue waves spreading across the sky, you've probably spotted a noctilucent cloud.
Realtime Noctilucent Cloud Photo Gallery
[previous years: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011]
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 July 18, 2012 there were potentially hazardous asteroids.
Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters: Asteroid | Date(UT) | Miss Distance | Mag. | Size |
2003 KU2 | Jul 15 | 40.2 LD | -- | 1.3 km |
2004 EW9 | Jul 16 | 46.8 LD | -- | 2.1 km |
2002 AM31 | Jul 22 | 13.7 LD | -- | 1.0 km |
37655 Illapa | Aug 12 | 37 LD | -- | 1.2 km |
2000 ET70 | Aug 21 | 58.5 LD | -- | 1.1 km |
1998 TU3 | Aug 25 | 49.2 LD | -- | 4.9 km |
2009 AV | Aug 26 | 62.8 LD | -- | 1.1 km |
1998 UO1 | Oct 4 | 60.1 LD | -- | 2.1 km |
2005 GQ21 | Oct 12 | 77 LD | -- | 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. | The official U.S. government space weather bureau |
| The first place to look for information about sundogs, pillars, rainbows and related phenomena. |
| Researchers call it a "Hubble for the sun." SDO is the most advanced solar observatory ever. |
| 3D views of the sun from NASA's Solar and Terrestrial Relations Observatory |
| Realtime and archival images of the Sun from SOHO. |
| from the NOAA Space Environment Center |
| the underlying science of space weather |