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SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids
SPACE WEATHER
Current conditions
Solar wind
speed: 510.5 km/sec
density: 0.3 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2245 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: A0
2245 UT Jun28
24-hr: A0
2245 UT Jun28
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2245 UT
Daily Sun: 28 Jun 08
The sun is blank--no sunspots. Credit: SOHO/MDI
Sunspot number: 0
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 25 June 2008
Far side of the Sun:
This holographic image reveals no sunspots on the far side of the sun. Image credit: SOHO/MDI
Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 3 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 3
quiet
explanation | more data
Current Auroral Oval:
Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/POES
What is the auroral oval?
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 4.4 nT
Bz: 0.2 nT south
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2246 UT
Coronal Holes:
There are no coronal holes on the Earth-facing side of the sun. Credit: SOHO Extreme UV Telescope
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts
Updated at: 2008 Jun 28 2203 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: 2008 Jun 28 2203 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
10 %
05 %
MINOR
01 %
01 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %
High latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
10 %
10 %
MINOR
01 %
01 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %
What's up in Space
June 28, 2008
AURORA ALERTS: Did you miss the Northern Lights of June 25th? Next time get a wake-up call from Space Weather PHONE.  

SOLAR SAIL: This summer, NASA engineers will try to realize a dream older than the Space Age itself--the deployment of a working solar sail in Earth orbit. NanoSail-D is scheduled for launch onboard a SpaceX Falcon 1 rocket on July 29, 2008: full story.

LAVENDER SUN: California is on fire. Hundreds of wildfires across the state are filling the air with smoke and filling the sky with ... lavender suns? That's what photographer Christopher Calubaquib saw when he looked through the haze over El Sobrante, California, on June 26th:

Yes, smoke can turn the sun shades of blue. It happens when the air is filled with particles measuring about 1 micron (10-6 m) across, a little larger than the wavelength of red light. Micron-sized particles scatter red light strongly, while letting blue light pass through. The mix of ash over El Sobrante produced a lavender hue, reminiscent of the great Alberta muskeg fires of September 1950. Believe it or not, the same physics can turn the Moon blue, but that is another story.

Is the smoke wafting through your hometown this weekend? Be alert for the lavender sun.

MARTIAN SOLSTICE: On Earth, northern summer began on June 20th. On Mars, the same thing happened five days later. Phoenix's stereo camera snapped this picture of its own shadow on June 25th, the date of the martian summer solstice:

The solstice brought maximum temperatures of -24 F (-32 C) to Phoenix's arctic landing site. Why so cold? Mars is 48 million miles farther from the sun than Earth and the thin atmosphere of Mars traps precious little heat. Temperatures rarely rise above the freezing point of water. No wonder there is so much ice in the soil.

Right now, Phoenix's robotic arm is busy rasping a layer of ice found in the Snow White trench just out of view of the picture, above. When samples are delivered to Phoenix's internal chemistry lab, researchers on Earth may be able to tell if this ice was liquid during past, warmer climate cycles. A positive result would be significant because the soil at Phoenix's feet is chocked with so many nutrients, "you could grow asparagus in it," according to one mission scientist. Evidence is mounting, on a chill summer day, that the stuff of life exists on Mars.

FORGOTTEN ROVER: (3D glasses required) "While Phoenix is busy tasting marsdust, his more mobile friend Opportunity is having a closer look at the amazing cliffs of Victoria crater," notes Belgian graphic artist Patrick Vantuyne. Combining images from Opportunity's stereo camera, Vantuyne created a dramatic three dimensional view of the rover's surroundings. Click here for 3D.


June 2008 Aurora Gallery
[Aurora Alerts] [Night-sky Cameras]

       
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. [comment]
On June 28, 2008, there were 959 potentially hazardous asteroids.
June-July 2008 Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Mag.
Size
2008 KO
June 1
4.4 LD
18
60 m
2008 KT
June 3
3.3 LD
20
9 m
2008 LB
June 9
3.3 LD
17
26 m
2008 LG2
June 13
9.2 LD
19
36 m
2008 LC
June 17
9.8 LD
18
55 m
2008 KN11
June 22
9.0 LD
18
110 m
2000 AD205
June 26
54 LD
17
800 m
1999 VU
June 29
65 LD
16
1.6 km
2008 BT18
July 14
5.9 LD
13
1.0 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 Links
NOAA Space Weather Prediction 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.
Daily Sunspot Summaries
  From the NOAA Space Environment Center
Current Solar Images
  from the National Solar Data Analysis Center
  more links...
©2008, SpaceWeather.com -- This site is penned daily by Dr. Tony Phillips.
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