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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: 423.0 km/s
density: 2.5 protons/cm³
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2256 UT

X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: X1 2000 UT Oct23
24-hr: X5 0835 UT Oct23
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2245 UT

Daily Sun: 23 Oct '03
Sunspots 484 and 486 pose a threat for strong 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: 117
What is the sunspot number?
Updated: 22 Oct 2003

Coronal Holes:

Earth could encounter a solar wind stream flowing from the indicated coronal hole as soon as Oct. 28th. Image credit: SOHO Extreme UV Telescope
More about coronal holes

Interplanetary Mag. Field
B_total: 6.4 nT
B_z: 5.9 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 23 2200 UTC

FLARE	0-24 hr	24-48 hr
CLASS M	90 %	90 %
CLASS X	50 %	50 %

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 23 2200 UTC
Mid-latitudes

	0-24 hr	24-48 hr
ACTIVE	30 %	30 %
MINOR	40 %	40 %
SEVERE	30 %	30 %

High latitudes

	0-24 hr	24-48 hr
ACTIVE	20 %	20 %
MINOR	40 %	40 %
SEVERE	40 %	40 %

What's Up in Space -- 23 Oct 2003
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SOLAR EXPLOSIONS: Solar activity is high. An intense X5-class solar flare erupted today (Oct. 23rd at 8:35 UT) from sunspot 486 near the sun's southeastern limb. The explosion hurled a coronal mass ejection (CME) into space. See the movie. Although the CME was not Earth-directed, it could deliver a glancing blow to our planet's magnetic field as early as Oct 24th (although the 25th is more likely).

Another CME was already en route when this morning's explosion occured. Pictured right, it was launched on Oct 22nd by an explosion near sunspot 484. Forecasters expect it to arrive on Oct. 24th and possibly trigger a strong geomagnetic storm. Sky watchers at middle latitudes should be alert for auroras.

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

WISCONSIN AURORAS: Earth is exiting a solar wind stream which has sparked high latitude auroras in recent days. Photographer Chris VenHaus saw these in Wisconsin just last night: (continued below)

Geomagnetic activity is subsiding, but the lull may be short-lived. One or more coronal mass ejections could strike Earth's magnetic field on Oct. 24th and spark a new round of storms. [aurora gallery]

BIG SUNSPOTS: There are now two giant spots on the sun. Sunspot 484 nearing the center of the solar disk is about as wide as the planet Jupiter. Sunspot 486, which might be equally large, is just peeking over the sun's southeastern limb. Both of these sunspots have complex magnetic fields that harbor energy for powerful X-class solar flares.

The two sunspots are easy to see, but never stare at the sun. Use safe solar observing methods instead. Bob Sandy of Roanoke County, Virginia, took this picture of sunspot 484 on Oct. 22nd.

More images: from Heung Wah of Hong Kong; from Peter Paice of Belfast, Northern Ireland; from Steven Alan of England; from Bruno Nolf of Belgium; from Ron Wayman of Tampa, Florida; from Paul Ng of Hong Kong; from Sal Fernandez of Fairbanks, Alaska; from William Trost of New Carlisle, Ohio; from Tom Murdic of Franklin, Tennessee; from Mike Harden of Cape Coral, Florida; from Loyd Overcash of Houston, Texas;

Spaceweather PHONE | Upcoming Events | Archives

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 23 Oct 2003 there were 540 known Potentially
Hazardous Asteroids

October 2003 Earth-asteroid encounters

ASTEROID

MISS DISTANCE

MAG.

2003 SS84

Oct. 11

8 LD

1998 FG2

Oct. 21

15 LD

2003 TL4

Oct. 26

12 LD

2001 KZ66

Oct. 30

31 LD

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.