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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: 532.8 km/sec
density: 1.7 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2244 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: A0
2245 UT Aug28
24-hr: A0
0640 UT Aug28
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2245 UT
Daily Sun: 28 Aug 07
This magnetogram shows the polarity of magnetic fields on the sun's surface--black is south, white is north. Bipolar sunspot 969 poses no threat for strong flares. Credit: SOHO/MDI.
Sunspot number: 12
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 26 Aug 2007
Far side of the Sun:
This holographic image reveals no large sunspots on the far side of the sun. Image credit: SOHO/MDI
Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 3 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 6
moderate
explanation | more data
Current Auroral Oval:
Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/POES
Updated: 2007 Aug 28 2154 UT
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 4.2 nT
Bz: 3.1 nT south
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2247 UT
Coronal Holes:
Earth is inside a solar wind stream flowing from the indicated coronal hole. Credit: STEREO-B Extreme Ultraviolet Imager
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts
Updated at: 2007 Aug 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: 2007 Aug 28 2203 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
30 %
20 %
MINOR
10 %
05 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %
High latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
35 %
25 %
MINOR
15 %
10 %
SEVERE
05 %
01 %
What's up in Space
August 28, 2007
Where's Saturn? Is that a UFO--or the ISS? What's the name of that star? Get the answers from mySKY--a fun new astronomy helper from Meade.

AURORA BONUS: Early Tuesday, while waiting for the lunar eclipse to begin, sky watchers from Alaska to the Hudson Bay were surprised by a bright display of green auroras. To view their photos, please try our new and experimental world image map. Click on the green pushpins for auroras.

DARK LUNAR ECLIPSE: This morning, Earth's shadow fell across the full Moon producing a remarkably dark and coppery lunar eclipse. The Moon was so dark, in fact, it was possible to photograph very faint stars in its vicinity. Anthony Arrigo of Park City, Utah, took this picture of the Moon beside the 8th magnitude star TYC 5807-1036-1:


Interactive Eclipse Map

"As I was taking pictures of the eclipse," he says, "I noticed a little pimple on the edge of the Moon. I snapped another shot and sure enough, a star had just come out. Sweet!"

One of the highlights of the eclipse was the turquoise flash witnessed by many onlookers. While the core of Earth's shadow is sunset-red, accounting for the red color of the Moon at totality, the circumference of the shadow is light-blue. Eclipse researcher Dr. Richard Keen of the University of Colorado explains:

"Most of the light illuminating the Moon passes through the stratosphere, and is reddened by scattering. However, light passing through the upper stratosphere penetrates the ozone layer, which absorbs red light and actually makes the passing light ray bluer!" This can be seen, he says, as a blue fringe around the red core of Earth's shadow.

In Brisbane, Australia, Dr. Shinn Yeung photographed the fringe using a Canon 20D set at ISO 200:

more turquoise: from Michel Hersen of Portland, Oregon; from Jimmy Westlake of Stagecoach, Colorado; from Brian Karczewski of Hemet, California; from Zach Wagner of San Ramon, California; from Stan Richard of suburban Des Moines, IA; from Craig Sullivan of Clinton, WA - Whidbey Island;

Lunar Eclipse Photo Gallery
[Night-sky Cameras] [Dreamy Lunar Eclipse]

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 August 28, 2007 there were 880 potentially hazardous asteroids.
July 2007 Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Mag.
Size
2007 FV42
July 2
53 LD
15
1.2 km
2007 MB4
July 4
7.6 LD
16
130 m
2007 DT103
July 29
9.3 LD
15
550 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.
Essential 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.
Daily Sunspot Summaries
  From the NOAA Space Environment Center
Current Solar Images
  from the National Solar Data Analysis Center
  more links...
©2007, SpaceWeather.com -- This site is penned daily by Dr. Tony Phillips.
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