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SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids
 
Solar wind
speed: 381.1 km/sec
density: 0.2 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2343 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: B2
2244 UT May24
24-hr: B2
2244 UT May24
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2300 UT
Daily Sun: 24 May 11
Sunspot 1216 poses no threat for strong flares. Solar activity is very low. Credit: SDO/HMI

more images: from Gianluca Valentini of Rimini, Italy; from Jim Fakatselis of Huntington, NY;
Sunspot number: 37
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 23 May 2011

Spotless Days
Current Stretch: 0 days
2011 total: 1 day (<1%)
2010 total: 51 days (14%)
2009 total: 260 days (71%)
Since 2004: 820 days
Typical Solar Min: 486 days

Updated 23 May 2011


The Radio Sun
10.7 cm flux: 84 sfu
explanation | more data
Updated 23 May 2011

Current Auroral Oval:
Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/POES
Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 1 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 2
quiet
explanation | more data
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 6.3 nT
Bz: 1.7 nT north
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2344 UT
Coronal Holes: 24 May 11
A solar wind stream flowing from the indicated coronal hole could reach Earth on or about May 28th. Credit: SDO/AIA.
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts
Updated at: 2011 May 24 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: 2011 May 24 2200 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
10 %
20 %
MINOR
05 %
05 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %
High latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
15 %
30 %
MINOR
05 %
10 %
SEVERE
01 %
05 %
 
Tuesday, May. 24, 2011
What's up in space
 

Turn your cell phone into a field-tested satellite tracker. Works for Android and iPhone.

 
Satellite flybys

QUIET SUN: Solar activity is very low. NOAA forecasters say the chance of strong flares during the next 24 hours is less than 1%.

COMET FIREBALL: Residents of Atlanta, Georgia, and surrounding areas were startled on Friday night, May 20th around 10:47 EDT, when an object brighter than a full Moon streaked across the southern sky. "It appears to have been a disintegrating piece of comet," reports Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office. In a 1/3-speed video, recorded by a NASA fireball camera at the Tellus Science Museum in Cartersville, GA, fragments can be seen flying away from the bright exploding core.


Videos: full speed, 1/3 speed. Having troubles? Try Realplayer.

Using data from multiple cameras, Cooke was able to triangulate the fireball's flight path. "Before it hit Earth, this object was in an orbit much like that of Halley's Comet." That doesn't mean the fireball came from Halley's Comet itself, but rather that it belongs to the Halley Family. Cooke continues: "This icy, fragile object was about 2 meters wide, hit the atmosphere at a speed of 38.5 km/s (86,000 mph), and completely disintegrated about 60 km above ground." Observers along the ground track reported bright blue-green flashes, luminous sparkles, and distinct fireball-shadows. "It was the brightest event we've seen in the three year history of our meteor network," adds Cooke.

The comet-chunk broke into at least four fragments. Cooke is analyzing the dynamics of each one to learn more about the parent body and to find out if any pieces might have reached the ground. Stay tuned for updates.

FLYBY FLURRY: In recent days, the quiet face of the sun has provided a nice backdrop for a flurry of non-solar activity: Observers in Europe are reporting multiple transits of the International Space Station and space shuttle Endeavour across the solar disk. This specimen obtained on May 22nd comes from Alex Conu of Furculesti, Romania:

"This was the second ISS transit I observed in less than a week," says Conu. "I could have seen a third, but I was just too busy to watch. The details we can see in the silhouette of the docked spacecraft are just amazing."

Astrophotographers who wish to take this kind of picture themselves can find daytime transit predictions at Calsky.org. Of course, seeing the ISS at night is wonderful, too. Flyby times may be found on your cell phone.

more silhouettes: from Maximilian Teodorescu of Bucharest, Romania; from Tamas Ladanyi of Veszprem, Hungary; from Mihai Curtasu & Vlad Dumitrescu of Furculesti, Roumania; from Vlad Dumitrescu of Alexandria, Romania; from Riccardo Rossi of Terrazzo (VR), ITALY; from Riccardo Rossi of San Biago (MO), ITALY


April 2011 Aurora Gallery
[previous Aprils: 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002]

  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 May 24, 2011 there were 1224 potentially hazardous asteroids.
Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Mag.
Size
2011 HC24
May 12
5.9 LD
--
58 m
2002 JC
Jun 1
57.5 LD
--
1.6 km
2009 BD
Jun 2
0.9 LD
--
10 m
2002 JB9
Jun 11
71.5 LD
--
3.2 km
2001 VH75
Jun 12
42.2 LD
--
1.1 km
2004 LO2
Jun 15
9.9 LD
--
48 m
2011 GA55
Jul 6
64.1 LD
--
1.0 km
2011 EZ78
Jul 10
37.3 LD
--
1.6 km
2003 YS117
Jul 14
73.9 LD
--
1.0 km
2007 DD
Jul 23
9.3 LD
--
31 m
2009 AV
Aug 22
49.7 LD
--
1.1 km
2003 QC10
Sep 18
50 LD
--
1.2 km
2004 SV55
Sep 19
67.5 LD
--
1.2 km
2007 TD
Sep 23
3.8 LD
--
58 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.
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STEREO
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