|   SPACE WEATHER
Current
Conditions
Solar Wind
velocity: 388.6 km/s
density:1.3 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2255 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: B8 2020 UT May29
24-hr: C3 0525 UT May29
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2245 UT
Daily Sun: 29 May '01 
Sunspt 9463 has a beta-gamma class magnetic field that could harbor energer for isolated M-class solar flares. However, the spot is near the western limb, so it does not pose a threat for Earth-directed blasts. Image credit: SOHO/MDI
The Far Side of the Sun
This holographic image reveals no substantial spots on the far side of the Sun. Image credit: SOHO/MDI
Sunspot Number: 190
More about sunspots
Updated: 28 May 2001
Radio Meteor Rate
24 hr max: 122 per hr
Listen to the Meteor Radar!
Updated: 29 May 2001 Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 4.9 nT
Bz: 1.6 nT north
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2256 UT Coronal Holes:
The northern tip of this triangular coronal hole is spewing a solar wind stream toward Earth that will arrive in the days ahead. Image credit: SOHO Extreme UV Telescope Telescope.
More about coronal holes
 SPACE WEATHER
NOAA
Forecasts
Solar Flares: Probabilities for a medium-sized (M-class) or a major (X-class) solar flare during the next 24/48 hours are tabulated below.
Updated at 2001 May 29 2200 UT
| FLARE | 24 hr | 48 hr | | CLASS M | 20 % | 20 % | | 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 2001 May 29 2200 UT Mid-latitudes | 24 hr | 48 hr | | ACTIVE | 15 % | 15 % | | MINOR | 05 % | 05 % | | SEVERE | 01 % | 01 % |
High latitudes | 24 hr | 48 hr | | ACTIVE | 20 % | 20 % | | MINOR | 05 % | 05 % | | SEVERE | 01 % | 01 % |
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| What's Up in Space -- 29 May 2001
Subscribe to Space Weather News!  MEMORIAL DAY ASTEROID: During the the USA's Memorial Day weekend a bright asteroid named 1999 KW4 sailed by our planet just 12.6 times more distant than the Moon. The space rock, astronomers learned just last week, is a binary system. It consists of two asteroids in a mutual orbit separated by about 2 km. 1999 KW4 was brightest on May 27th at magnitude 10.7, but it will remain an easy target for modest amateur telescopes equipped with CCD cameras during the next week as it recedes from Earth and slowly fades. [3D orbit] [ephemeris] [movies]
1999 KW4 is a rare asteroid that passes even closer to the Sun than Mercury does. It travels around our star once every 188 days following an elliptical orbit that stretches from 0.2 AU to 1.08 AU. Some scientists think 1999 KW4 might be the nucleus of an extinct comet. QUIET SUN: Solar activity remains generally low. A coronal hole straddling the Sun's central meridian is blowing a solar wind stream toward Earth that will likely arrive by mid-week. Gusts could trigger geomagnetic activity. Stay tuned for updates. IMPACT: An interplanetary shock wave buffeted Earth's magnetosphere Sunday at 1500 UT, but the impact did not trigger substantial geomagnetic activity. The disturbance, which raised the solar wind velocity near Earth to nearly 650 km/s, was the leading edge of a faint full-halo coronal mass ejection [350 kb movie] that billowed away from the Sun last Friday.  WEB LINKS: NOAA FORECAST | GLOSSARY | SPACE WEATHER TUTORIAL | LESSON PLANS | BECOME A SUBSCRIBER | 
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 are on a collision course with our planet, although astronomers are finding new ones all the time. [more]
On 29 May 2001 there were 309 known Potentially
Hazardous Asteroids May-June 2001 Earth-asteroid encounters | ASTEROID | DATE (UT) | MISS DISTANCE | | 2001 FE90 | 2001-May-06 23:37 | 49.7 LD | | 1999 KW4 | 2001-May-25 23:31 | 12.6 LD | | 2001 JV1 | 2001-Jun-06 07:53 | 18.0 LD | Note: LD is a "Lunar Distance." 1 LD = 384,401 km, the distance between Earth and the Moon. 1 LD also equals 0.00256 AU. 
- TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE: On Jan. 9, 2001, the full Moon glided through Earth's copper-colored shadow. [gallery]
- CHRISTMAS ECLIPSE: Sky watchers across North America enjoyed a partial solar eclipse on Christmas Day 2000 [gallery]
- LEONIDS 2000: Observers around the globe enjoyed three predicted episodes of shooting stars. [gallery]
 Feb. 21, 2001: Nature's Tiniest Space Junk -- Using an experimental radar at the Marshall Space Flight Center, scientists are monitoring tiny but hazardous meteoroids that swarm around our planet. Feb. 15, 2001: The Sun Does a Flip -- NASA scientists who monitor the Sun say our star's enormous magnetic field is reversing -- a sure sign that solar maximum is here. Jan. 25, 2001: Earth's Invisible Magnetic Tail -- NASA's IMAGE spacecraft, the first to enjoy a global view of the magnetosphere, spotted a curious plasma tail pointing from Earth toward the Sun. Jan. 4, 2001: Earth at Perihelion -- On January 4, 2001, our planet made its annual closest approach to the Sun. Dec. 29, 2000: Millennium Meteors -- North Americans will have a front-row seat for a brief but powerful meteor shower on January 3, 2001. Dec. 28, 2000: Galileo Looks for Auroras on Ganymede -- NASA's durable Galileo spacecraft flew above the solar system's largest moon this morning in search of extraterrestrial "Northern Lights" Dec. 22, 2000: Watching the Angry Sun -- Solar physicists are enjoying their best-ever look at a Solar Maximum thanks to NOAA and NASA satellites. MORE SPACE WEATHER HEADLINES |
