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SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids
 
Solar wind
speed: 481.5 km/sec
density: 0.9 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2343 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: B9
2120 UT Jan25
24-hr: B9
0157 UT Jan25
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2300 UT
Daily Sun: 25 Jan 12
Sunspot 1402 poses a threat for M-class solar flares. Credit: SDO/HMI
Sunspot number: 105
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 23 Jan 2012

Spotless Days
Current Stretch: 0 days
2012 total: 0 days (0%)
2011 total: 2 days (<1%)
2010 total: 51 days (14%)
2009 total: 260 days (71%)
Since 2004: 821 days
Typical Solar Min: 486 days

Updated 23 Jan 2012


The Radio Sun
10.7 cm flux: 137 sfu
explanation | more data
Updated 23 Jan 2012

Current Auroral Oval:
Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/POES
Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 2 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 4
unsettled
explanation | more data
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 4.0 nT
Bz: 1.8 nT south
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2346 UT
Coronal Holes: 24 Jan 12
Solar wind flowing from the indicated coronal hole should reach Earth on Jan. 27-28. Credit: SDO/AIA.
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts
Updated at: 2012 Jan 25 2200 UTC
FLARE
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
CLASS M
25 %
10 %
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: 2012 Jan 25 2200 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
10 %
20 %
MINOR
01 %
10 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %
High latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
10 %
25 %
MINOR
05 %
15 %
SEVERE
01 %
05 %
 
Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012
What's up in space
 

They came from outer space--and you can have one! Genuine meteorites are now on sale in the Space Weather Store.

 
Own your own meteorite

SUNSET PLANETS: When the sun goes down tonight, step outside and look west. Venus and the crescent Moon are shining together through the twilight glow of sunset. It's a nice way to end the day. Images: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7.

SUBSIDING STORM: A geomagnetic storm caused by Monday's M9-class solar flare and Tuesday's CME impact is over. The aurora watch is cancelled for all but higher latitudes around the Arctic Circle. [aurora gallery]

STORM RECAP: As expected, a CME hit Earth's magnetic field on Jan. 24th at approximately 1500 UT (10 am EST). The impact produced a G1-class geomagnetic storm and bright auroras around the Arctic Circle. As the storm crested, Göran Strand of Östersund, Sweden, took a panoramic photo and wrapped it 360-degrees to create this composition, which he calls Planet Aurora:

Even veteran aurora watchers were impressed. "This was one of the best Northern Lights displays that I've ever seen, and I mean ever in over 5000 hours on the ice," says Andy Keen of Inari, Finland. "It was, in short, truly spectacular and something that will live with me for a lifetime." In the Abisko National Park of Sweden, aurora tour guide Chad Blakely contributed a similar report: "Eight tourists and I were treated to one of the most wonderful displays I have ever seen. The auroras began as we were eating dinner and continued into the very early hours of the morning. Words can not describe the excitement we shared."

The storm subsided as it crossed the Atlantic and petered out almost completely by the time it reached North America. Only observers in Scandinavia, Iceland and Greenland witnessed the full display:

"We went out with snowmobiles to wait for the incoming storm," says photographer Antti Pietikäinen of Muonio in the Finnish Lapland. "The show started slowly, but after 15mins the landscape was green! This was the first time for Thomas (pictured above) to see the Northern Lights. He was very happy." Aurora alerts: text, voice.

UPDATED: January 2012 Aurora Gallery
[previous Januaries: 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2005, 2004]


Comet Lovejoy Gallery
[previous comets: McNaught, Holmes, Lulin, Tuttle, Ikeya-Zhang]

  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 January 25, 2012 there were 1272 potentially hazardous asteroids.
Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Mag.
Size
2012 BV1
Jan 20
0.8 LD
--
3 m
2012 BF27
Jan 20
1.9 LD
--
26 m
2012 BS1
Jan 23
3.1 LD
--
10 m
2012 BY1
Jan 24
2 LD
--
30 m
1991 VK
Jan 25
25.3 LD
--
1.9 km
2012 BW13
Jan 26
1.7 LD
--
16 m
2012 BD14
Jan 30
5.8 LD
--
19 m
433 Eros
Jan 31
69.5 LD
--
8.5 km
2009 AV
Feb 16
44.9 LD
--
1.2 km
2000 ET70
Feb 19
17.7 LD
--
1.0 km
2011 CP4
Feb 23
9.1 LD
--
255 m
2008 EJ85
Mar 6
9.1 LD
--
44 m
1999 RD32
Mar 14
57.9 LD
--
2.3 km
2011 YU62
Mar 16
73.4 LD
--
1.3 km
1996 SK
Apr 18
67.2 LD
--
1.6 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
Trade Show Displays
   
  more links...
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