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SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids
 
Solar wind
speed: 520.3 km/sec
density: 0.4 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2345 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: B1
2250 UT Oct22
24-hr: B2
0230 UT Oct22
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2340 UT
Daily Sun: 22 Oct 10
All of the sunspots on the Earth-facing side of the sun are relatively stable and quiet. No big solar flares are expected in the next 24 hours. Credit: SOHO/MDI. 2-day movie: 9 MB mpg
Sunspot number: 34
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 21 Oct 2010

Spotless Days
Current Stretch: 0 days
2010 total: 45 days (15%)
2009 total: 260 days (71%)
Since 2004: 813 days
Typical Solar Min: 486 days

Updated 21 Oct 2010


The Radio Sun
10.7 cm flux: 84 sfu
explanation | more data
Updated 21 Oct 2010

Current Auroral Oval:
Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/POES
Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 2 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 2
quiet
explanation | more data
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 8.5 nT
Bz: 1.2 nT south
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2346 UT
Coronal Holes: 22 Oct 10
A solar wind stream flowing from the indicated coronal hole should reach Earth on Oct. 25th or 26th. Credit: SDO/AIA.
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts
Updated at: 2010 Oct 22 2200 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: 2010 Oct 22 2200 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
50 %
60 %
MINOR
15 %
25 %
SEVERE
01 %
05 %
High latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
50 %
60 %
MINOR
20 %
30 %
SEVERE
05 %
10 %
 
Friday, Oct. 22, 2010
What's up in space
 

ON SALE NOW: The David H. Levy Comet Hunter -- offering the clearest views of Comet Hartley 2.

 

ASTEROID FLYBY: Asteroid 2010 TG19 is flying past the Earth-Moon system today, Oct. 22nd, only 24,000 miles beyond the orbit of the Moon. The 70-meter space rock is about twice the size of the asteroid or comet that flattened a forest in Siberia in 1908. In this case, however, there is no danger of a collision.
Astronomers at the Sormano Astronomical Observatory in Italy photographed the asteroid's approach on Oct. 21st using a 20-inch telescope: image.

ORIONID METEOR UPDATE: Earth is exiting a stream of debris from Halley's Comet, the source of the annual Orionid meteor shower. According to preliminary counts from the International Meteor Organization, the shower peaked on Oct. 21st with 35 meteors per hour. Antonio Finazzi caught this one flying over Chiuduno, Italy:

Finazzi's photo shows why many observers saw almost nothing of the display--big moonlight! Only the brightest few Orionids were able to piece the glare. Activity should continue at reduced levels for another day or two with continued interference from the Moon. Listen for stragglers at Spaceweather Radio.

more images: from Thomas Ashcraft near Santa Fe, New Mexico; from William Stewart of Ravensmoor, Nantwich, Cheshire, UK; from Monika Landy-Gyebnar of Veszprem, Hungary; from Chris Peterson of Guffey, Colorado; from Brian Emfinger of Ozark, Arkansas

SUNDIVING COMET: The solar system now has one less comet. On Oct 21st, a sundiving comet discovered by Chinese amateur astronomer Bo Zhou passed too close to the sun and apparently evaporated. SOHO coronagraphs recorded the death plunge:

The comet was likely a member of the Kreutz sungrazer family. Named after a 19th century German astronomer who studied them in detail, Kreutz sungrazers are fragments from the breakup of a giant comet at least 2000 years ago. Several of these fragments are thought to pass by the sun and disintegrate every day. Most are too small to see but occasionally a big fragment like this one attracts attention.


October 2010 Aurora Gallery
[previous Octobers: 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001]

  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.
On October 22, 2010 there were 1155 potentially hazardous asteroids.
Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Mag.
Size
2010 TQ19
Oct 8
9.6 LD
18
37 m
2010 TS19
Oct 10
3.7 LD
18
31 m
2010 TD54
Oct 12
0.1 LD
14
7 m
2010 TB54
Oct 13
6.1 LD
20
19 m
1999 VO6
Oct 14
34.3 LD
16
1.8 km
2010 TK
Oct 16
4.5 LD
18
37 m
1998 TU3
Oct 17
69.1 LD
13
5.2 km
2010 TG19
Oct 22
1.1 LD
15
70 m
1998 MQ
Oct 23
77.7 LD
15
1.9 km
2007 RU17
Oct 29
39.2 LD
15
1.1 km
2003 UV11
Oct 30
5 LD
12
595 m
3838 Epona
Nov 7
76.8 LD
14
3.4 km
2005 QY151
Nov 16
77.7 LD
17
1.3 km
2008 KT
Nov 23
5.6 LD
21
10 m
2002 EZ16
Nov 30
73.9 LD
16
1.0 km
2000 JH5
Dec 7
47 LD
-
1.5 km
2010 JL33
Dec 9
16.6 LD
13
1.3 km
2008 EA32
Jan 7
76.5 LD
-
2.1 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 web links
NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center
  The official U.S. government space weather bureau
Atmospheric Optics
  The first place to look for information about sundogs, pillars, rainbows and related phenomena.
Solar Dynamics Observatory
  Researchers call it a "Hubble for the sun." SDO is the most advanced solar observatory ever.
STEREO
  3D views of the sun from NASA's Solar and Terrestrial Relations Observatory
Solar and Heliospheric Observatory
  Realtime and archival images of the Sun from SOHO.
Daily Sunspot Summaries
  from the NOAA Space Environment Center
Heliophysics
  the underlying science of space weather
Science Central
   
  more links...
 
 
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