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SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids
 
Solar wind
speed: 448.5 km/sec
density: 5.1 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2350 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: C1
1744 UT Dec23
24-hr: M4
0040 UT Dec23
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2300 UT
Daily Sun: 23 Dec 15
Growing sunspot AR2473 has a 'delta-class' magnetic field that harbors energy for strong M-class solar flares. Credit: SDO/HMI

Sunspot number: 68
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 23 Dec 2015

Spotless Days
Current Stretch: 0 days
2015 total: 0 days (0%)

2014 total: 1 day (<1%)
2013 total: 0 days (0%)
2012 total: 0 days (0%)
2011 total: 2 days (<1%)
2010 total: 51 days (14%)
2009 total: 260 days (71%)

Updated 23 Dec 2015


The Radio Sun
10.7 cm flux: 130 sfu
explanation | more data
Updated 23 Dec 2015

Current Auroral Oval:
Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/Ovation
Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 3 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 3
quiet
explanation | more data
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 7.2 nT
Bz: 1.8 nT south
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2349 UT
Coronal Holes: 23 Dec 15

A stream of solar wind flowing from this southern coronal hole could brush against Earth's magnetic field as early as Dec. 24th. Credit: SDO/AIA.
Noctilucent Clouds The southern season for noctilucent clouds is about to begin. Monitor the daily daisies, below, from NASA's AIM spacecraft for the first wisps of electric blue above Antarctica.
Switch view: Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctic Peninsula, East Antarctica, Polar
Updated at: 12-23-2015 18:55:02
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts
Updated at: 2015 Dec 23 2200 UTC
FLARE
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
CLASS M
50 %
50 %
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: 2015 Dec 23 2200 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
25 %
20 %
MINOR
05 %
05 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %
High latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
15 %
15 %
MINOR
30 %
30 %
SEVERE
30 %
25 %
 
Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2015
What's up in space
 

Marianne's Heaven On Earth Aurora Chaser Tours Chasethelighttours.co.uk invites you to join them in their quest to find and photograph the Aurora Borealis. Experience the winter wonderland in the Tromsø Area.

 
Chase the Light Tours

CHRISTMAS FULL MOON: Santa can turn off his headlamp. Why? Because the Moon will be full on Christmas. The last time the full Moon fell on Dec. 25th was 1977, and it won't happen again until 2034. That makes the Christmas Full Moon of 2015 a rare event. Enjoy the holiday moonlight. [photo gallery]

SOLAR FLARE AND RADIO BLACKOUT: In the past 24 hours, sunspot AR2473 has more than quadrupled in size. On Dec. 23rd (00:40 UT) it erupted, producing an M4-class solar flare. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the extreme ultraviolet flash:

UV radiation from the flare bathed the top of Earth's atmosphere, ionizing atoms and molecules, and altering the normal propagation of radio transmissions. Around the South Pacific Ocean, where the sun was high in the sky, a full-fledged shortwave radio blackout occured. This map from NOAA shows the affected area:

The type of people who would notice such a blackout are ham radio operators, mariners, and some aviators who use shortwave radio in their work. The event lasted approximately half an hour.

More flares and blackouts are possible in the days ahead as AR2374 turns toward Earth. NOAA forecasters estimate a 45% chance of M-class explosions on Dec. 23-24. Solar flare alerts: text or voice

Realtime Spaceweather Photo Gallery

LAST-MINUTE, OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD CHRISTMAS GIFT: Is there a young scientist in your life? For Christmas, you can give them the gift of exploration--specifically, a trip to the edge of space:

To raise funds for its student research program, Earth to Sky Calculus is selling a limited number of Holiday Season balloon flights carrying ... whatever you desire. Small experiments. Holiday or anniversary photos. Business advertisements. The sky is the limit. Young people receiving this gift can design their own experiment and attend the launch via Skype. The gift includes a brainstorming session via Skype with Dr. Tony Phillips and the students of Earth to Sky. Cost: $500. Buy now and receive the certificate by email in time for Christmas. Contact Dr. Tony Phillips to book your flight.

SOLSTICE AURORAS: Winter nights are supposed to be long and dark. This week they have only been long. Auroras around the Arctic Circle have wiped out the darkness with displays like this:

"It was a beautiful evening in the Yukon," says Joseph Bradley, who took the picture on Dec. 20th. "The lights came out early and--WOW--what an amazing show. It had me running all over the place. Fellow photographer Jono and I had a great 4 hour run!!"

The lights Bradley saw were ignited by a CME strike on Saturday, Dec. 19th. The impact caused intermittant G1 and G2-class geomagnetic storms for nearly two days. Those storms are subsiding now, possibly opening a window into winter darkness. NOAA says the chance of polar geomagnetic storms on Dec. 23rd is no more than 20%. Aurora alerts: text or voice

Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery


Realtime Meteor Photo Gallery


Realtime Comet Photo Gallery


  All Sky Fireball Network
Every night, a network of NASA all-sky cameras scans the skies above the United States for meteoritic fireballs. Automated software maintained by NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office calculates their orbits, velocity, penetration depth in Earth's atmosphere and many other characteristics. Daily results are presented here on Spaceweather.com.

On Dec. 23, 2015, the network reported 19 fireballs.
(15 sporadics, 4 December Leonis Minorids)

In this diagram of the inner solar system, all of the fireball orbits intersect at a single point--Earth. The orbits are color-coded by velocity, from slow (red) to fast (blue). [Larger image] [movies]

  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 December 23, 2015 there were potentially hazardous asteroids.
Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Size
2015 XE1
Dec 19
13.2 LD
33 m
2015 XA378
Dec 19
10 LD
31 m
2015 YQ1
Dec 22
1.4 LD
10 m
2015 YE1
Dec 22
5.5 LD
15 m
2015 YC1
Dec 22
3.9 LD
27 m
2015 YK
Dec 22
8.9 LD
28 m
2015 XN261
Dec 23
2.6 LD
26 m
2015 YJ1
Dec 24
7.4 LD
14 m
2015 XX378
Dec 24
6.9 LD
49 m
2011 YD29
Dec 24
9.7 LD
24 m
2003 SD220
Dec 24
28.4 LD
1.8 km
2008 CM
Dec 29
22.8 LD
1.5 km
2015 XV351
Dec 29
5.3 LD
28 m
2015 XC352
Dec 30
5.2 LD
30 m
2015 YT1
Dec 31
13.5 LD
17 m
2004 MQ1
Jan 2
55.4 LD
1.1 km
1999 JV6
Jan 6
12.6 LD
410 m
2015 YC2
Jan 15
4.9 LD
101 m
1685 Toro
Jan 22
60.9 LD
1.7 km
2001 XR1
Jan 23
74.4 LD
1.5 km
2015 VC2
Jan 28
5.8 LD
15 m
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.
  Cosmic Rays in the Atmosphere
Situation Report -- Oct. 30, 2015 Stratospheric Radiation (+37o N)
Cosmic ray levels are elevated (+6.1% above the Space Age median). The trend is flat. Cosmic ray levels have increased +0% in the past month.
Sept. 06: 4.14 uSv/hr (414 uRad/hr)
Sept. 12: 4.09 uSv/hr (409 uRad/hr)
Sept. 23: 4.12 uSv/hr (412 uRad/hr)
Sept. 25: 4.16 uSv/hr (416 uRad/hr)
Sept. 27: 4.13 uSv/hr (413 uRad/hr)
Oct. 11: 4.02 uSv/hr (402 uRad/hr)
Oct. 22: 4.11 uSv/hr (411 uRad/hr)
These measurements are based on regular space weather balloon flights: learn more.

Approximately once a week, Spaceweather.com and the students of Earth to Sky Calculus fly "space weather balloons" to the stratosphere over California. These balloons are equipped with radiation sensors that detect cosmic rays, a surprisingly "down to Earth" form of space weather. Cosmic rays can seed clouds, trigger lightning, and penetrate commercial airplanes. Our measurements show that someone flying back and forth across the continental USA, just once, can absorb as much ionizing radiation as 2 to 5 dental X-rays. Here is the data from our latest flight, Oct. 22nd:

Radiation levels peak at the entrance to the stratosphere in a broad region called the "Pfotzer Maximum." This peak is named after physicist George Pfotzer who discovered it using balloons and Geiger tubes in the 1930s. Radiation levels there are more than 80x sea level.

Note that the bottom of the Pfotzer Maximim is near 55,000 ft. This means that some high-flying aircraft are not far from the zone of maximum radiation. Indeed, according to the Oct 22th measurements, a plane flying at 45,000 feet is exposed to 2.79 uSv/hr. At that rate, a passenger would absorb about one dental X-ray's worth of radiation in about 5 hours.

The radiation sensors onboard our helium balloons detect X-rays and gamma-rays in the energy range 10 keV to 20 MeV. These energies span the range of medical X-ray machines and airport security scanners.

  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
Synergy Spray Foam Insulation of Houston TX
  Protection from the Sun!
Kotton Grammer, Search Engine Marketing
  a sponsor of SpaceWeather.com
Columbia Northern High School
  Web-based high school science course with free enrollment
Heliophysics
  the underlying science of space weather
  more links...
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