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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: 727.5 km/s
density:
5.2 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2256 UT

X-ray Solar Flares

6-hr max:
M1 2155 UT Oct21
24-hr: M1 2155 UT Oct21
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2245 UT

Daily Sun: 21 Oct '03
Sunspot 484 is growing rapidly and poses a threat for X-class solar flares. Image credit: SOHO MDI

The Far Side of the Sun

This holographic image reveals one large sunspot on the far side of the Sun. Image credit: SOHO/MDI


Sunspot Number: 113
What is the sunspot number?
Updated: 20 Oct 2003

Coronal Holes:

Earth is inside a solar wind stream flowing from the indicated coronal hole. Image credit: SOHO Extreme UV Telescope
More about coronal holes

Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 9.7 nT
Bz:
7.8 nT north
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2257 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 2003 Oct 21 2200 UTC
FLARE 0-24 hr 24-48 hr
CLASS M 70 % 70 %
CLASS X 15 % 15 %

Geomagnetic Storms: Probabilities for significant disturbances in Earth's magnetic field are given for three activity levels: active, minor storm, severe storm
Updated at 2003 Oct 21 2200 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr 24-48 hr
ACTIVE 35 % 35 %
MINOR 30 % 30 %
SEVERE 10 % 10 %

High latitudes
0-24 hr 24-48 hr
ACTIVE 25 % 25 %
MINOR 35 % 30 %
SEVERE 15 % 10 %

What's Up in Space -- 21 Oct 2003
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METEOR SHOWER: Sky watchers who wake up before dawn on Wednesday, Oct. 22nd, can see a mild but pleasant meteor shower: the annual Orionids, which come from Halley's comet. The show will be improved this year by an eye-catching close encounter between the moon and Jupiter in the eastern sky. [sky map]

GIANT SUNSPOT: Sunspot 484 is simply enormous. Barely visible just a few days ago, the active region has since grown to about the size of the planet Jupiter. It's easy to see, but never look directly at the sun. Always practice safe solar observing. "This is one of the most spectacular sunspots I've seen," says astrophotographer Steven Alan of England, who took this picture using a Fuji digital camera and a 4.5-inch telescope on Oct. 21st.

An X-class explosion near sunspot 484 on Oct. 19th hurled a coronal mass ejection into space. Although it was not aimed at Earth, the expanding cloud might deliver a glancing blow to our planet's magnetic field later today and trigger geomagnetic storms.


Above: A 3-day movie of fast-growing sunspot 484. Credit: SOHO.

AURORA WATCH: Earth is inside a solar wind stream that is causing mild geomagnetic storms today. Sky watchers at high latitudes (e.g., Alaska, Canada and US northern border states from Maine to Washington) should be alert for auroras. Stronger storms are possible if the coronal mass ejection of Oct. 19th reaches Earth, in which case auroras might descend to middle latitudes.

Above: Tom Eklund of Valkeakoski, Finland, took this picture of the bright moon shining through green auroras on Oct. 14th. [gallery]

Would you like a phone call when auroras appear over your home town? Sign up for Spaceweather PHONE.



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 21 Oct 2003 there were 539 known Potentially
Hazardous Asteroids

October 2003 Earth-asteroid encounters
ASTEROID

 MISS DISTANCE

 MAG.
2003 SS84

Oct. 11

8 LD

 17
1998 FG2

Oct. 21

15 LD

 17
2003 TL4

Oct. 26

12 LD

 15
2001 KZ66

Oct. 30

31 LD

 16
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 --a gallery of up-to-date solar pictures from the National Solar Data Analysis Center at the Goddard Space Flight Center. See also the GOES-12 Soft X-ray Imager.

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

SOHO Farside Images of the Sun from SWAN and MDI.

The Latest SOHO Coronagraph Images -- from the Naval Research Lab

The Sun from Earth -- daily images of our star from the Big Bear Solar Observatory

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

Observable Comets -- from the Harvard Minor Planet Center.

What is the Interplanetary Magnetic Field? -- A lucid answer from the University of Michigan. See also the Anatomy of Earth's Magnetosphere.

Real-time Solar Wind Data -- from NASA's ACE spacecraft. How powerful are solar wind gusts? Read this story from Science@NASA.

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

Aurora Forecast --from the University of Alaska's Geophysical Institute

Daily Solar Flare and Sunspot Data -- from the NOAA Space Environment Center.

Lists of Coronal Mass Ejections -- from 1998 to 2001

What is an Iridium flare? See also Photographing Satellites by Brian Webb.

Vandenberg AFB missile launch schedule.

What is an Astronomical Unit, or AU?

Mirages: Mirages in Finland; An Introduction to Mirages;

NOAA Solar Flare and Sunspot Data: 1999; 2000; 2001; 2002; Jan-Mar., 2003; Apr-Jun., 2003;

Recent International Astronomical Union Circulars

GLOSSARY | SPACE WEATHER TUTORIAL

 

 

 




 

 
Editor's Note: Space weather and other forecasts that appear on this site are formulated by Dr. Tony Phillips. They are not official statements of any government agency (including NASA) nor should they be construed as guarantees of space weather or other celestial activity.

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Dr. Tony Phillips
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