SPACE WEATHER Current Conditions Solar Wind speed: 648.2 km/s density:2.0 protons/cm3 explanation | more data Updated: Today at 2245 UT X-ray Solar Flares 6-hr max: X3 2130 UT Jul20 24-hr: X3 2130 UT Jul20 explanation | more data Updated: Today at 2245 UT Daily Sun: 20 July '02 Sunspot 30 is decaying but it still has a beta-gamma-delta magnetic field that poses a threat for X-class solar flares. Image credit: SOHO/MDI The Far Side of the Sun This holographic image reveals no substantial sunspots on the far side of the Sun. Image credit: SOHO/MDI Sunspot Number: 148 More about sunspots Updated: 19 Jul 2002 Coronal Holes: A solar wind stream from the indicated coronal hole is probably contributing to the ongoing spate of solar wind activity. Image credit: SOHO Extreme UV Telescope. More about coronal holes Interplanetary Mag. Field Btotal: 4.1 nT Bz: 3.1 nT south explanation | more data Updated: Today at 2246 UT 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 2002 Jul 20 2200 UTC FLARE | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | CLASS M | 60 % | 60 % | CLASS X | 10 % | 10 % | Geomagnetic Storms: Probabilities for significant disturbances in Earth's magnetic field are given for three activity levels: active, minor storm, severe storm Updated at 2002 Jul 20 2200 UTC Mid-latitudes | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | ACTIVE | 30 % | 30 % | MINOR | 15 % | 15 % | SEVERE | 05 % | 05 % | High latitudes | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | ACTIVE | 40 % | 40 % | MINOR | 15 % | 15 % | SEVERE | 05 % | 05 % | Web server provided by VPS Hosting | What's Up in Space -- 20 Jul 2002 Subscribe to Space Weather News! AURORA WATCH: The solar wind flowing past Earth has been fast and gusty since an interplanetary shock wave arrived yesterday at 1500 UT. Geomagnetic activity remains generally low because, although the solar wind is fast, it is also thin. Nevertheless, sky watchers should be alert for possible faint auroras after nightfall on Saturday. Above: Green skies over Québec. Philippe Moussette captured these faint Northern Lights on July 20, 2002. SUNSPOT WATCH: Sunspot 30--formerly a giant "naked-eye" spot--has decayed substantially since Friday. It still has a twisted magnetic field, however, that poses a threat for X-class flares. Meanwhile, sunspot 36 has grown to become the largest spot on the Sun. You can see these spots yourself--but never stare directly at our star. Use safe solar projection methods. Above: The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory captured this white-light image of the Sun on July 20th. SOLAR BLAST: Twisted magnetic fields above sunspot 30 erupted on Thursday, July 18th. The explosion (at 0745 UT) sparked an X2-class solar flare and hurled a faint coronal mass ejection toward Earth. The CME probably arrived on July 19th and triggered the ongoing episode of fast, gusty solar wind. WEB LINKS: NOAA FORECAST | GLOSSARY | SPACE WEATHER TUTORIAL | LESSON PLANS | BECOME A SUBSCRIBER | 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 are on a collision course with our planet, although astronomers are finding new ones all the time. On 20 Jul 2002 there were 448 known Potentially Hazardous Asteroids June-July 2002 Earth-asteroid encountersNotes: 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. - CRESCENT SUN: The June 10th solar eclipse is long over, but new pictures of the event keep appearing. Visit our growing photo gallery and see for yourself. There are strange shadows, weird sunsets, eclipse dogs, crescent-eyed turkeys and extraordinary rings of fire. [more]
- COMET IKEYA-ZHANG: The brightest comet in years delighted sky watchers in March and April 2002. [gallery]
- GONE JUPITER: On Feb. 22, 2002, the Moon had a close encounter with Jupiter. [gallery]
- GONE SATURN: On Feb. 20, 2002, the Moon glided in front of Saturn and its mysterious rings. [gallery]
- HOT COMET: Periodic comet 96P/Machholz put on a dazzling show as it swung by the Sun on Jan. 8, 2002.
- ASTEROID FLYBY: Asteroid 2001 YB5 raced past Earth on Jan. 7, 2002, only two times farther away than the Moon. [gallery]
- SUBTLE ECLIPSE: The Moon dipped into the outskirts of Earth's shadow on Dec. 30, 2001. [gallery]
- MOON & SATURN: The Moon keeps getting in the way of Saturn! See the series of close encounters here.
- CHRISTMAS LIGHTS: On Christmas Eve, 2001, a solar wind stream triggered Northern Lights. [gallery]
- SOLAR ECLIPSE: Sky watchers in Hawaii and most parts of North America experienced a partial solar eclipse on Dec. 14th. [gallery]
- BRIGHT ASTEROID: Videos and images of 1998 WT24 -- a big and bright near-Earth asteroid that came close to our planet on Dec. 16, 2001. [gallery]
- NORTHERN LIGHTS: On Nov. 24th a pair of coronal mass ejections swept past Earth and triggered worldwide auroras.
- LEONIDS 2001: Some people saw it. Others heard it. In either case, they'll never forget it: The 2001 Leonid meteor storm.
- PERSEIDS 2001: Perseid watchers on August 12th spotted meteors, auroras, and a disintegrating Russian rocket! [gallery]
- MORNING PLANETS: In July and Aug. 2001, the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, and Mercury put on a dazzling early-morning sky show. [gallery]
- ECLIPSE SAFARI: Onlookers cried out in delight on June 21, 2001, when the Moon covered the African Sun, revealing the dazzling corona. [gallery]
- TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE: On Jan. 9, 2001, the full Moon glided through Earth's copper-colored shadow. [gallery]
- CHRISTMAS ECLIPSE: Sky watchers across North America enjoyed a partial solar eclipse on Christmas Day 2000 [gallery]
- LEONIDS 2000: Observers around the globe enjoyed three predicted episodes of shooting stars. [gallery]
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