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SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids

SpaceWeather.com
Science news and information about the Sun-Earth environment.

SPACE WEATHER
Current
Conditions

Solar Wind

speed: 753.1 km/s
density:
32.4 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2255 UT

X-ray Solar Flares

6-hr max:
M2 1935 UT May29
24-hr: X1 0105 UT May29
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2245 UT

Daily Sun: 29 May '03
Sunspot 365 has a twisted delta class magnetic field that harbors energy for X-class solar flares. Image credit: SOHO/MDI

The Far Side of the Sun

This holographic image reveals one or two small sunspot groups on the far side of the Sun. Image credit: SOHO/MDI

Sunspot Number: 116
What is the sunspot number?
Updated: 28 May 2003

Coronal Holes:

Earth will enter a solar wind stream flowing from the indicated coronal hole on or about June 1st. Image credit: SOHO Extreme UV Telescope.
More about coronal holes

Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 20.6 nT
Bz:
2.3 nT south
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2257 UT


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 2003 May 29 2200 UTC
FLARE 0-24 hr 24-48 hr
CLASS M 75 % 75 %
CLASS X 25 % 25 %

Geomagnetic Storms: Probabilities for significant disturbances in Earth's magnetic field are given for three activity levels: active, minor storm, severe storm
Updated at 2003 May 29 2200 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr 24-48 hr
ACTIVE 25 % 50 %
MINOR 35 % 25 %
SEVERE 35 % 15 %

High latitudes
0-24 hr 24-48 hr
ACTIVE 20 % 30 %
MINOR 35 % 35 %
SEVERE 40 % 30 %

What's Up in Space -- 29 May 2003
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AURORA WARNING: Two solar coronal mass ejections swept past Earth on May 29th: one at 1215 UT (8:15 a.m. EDT) and another at 1900 UT (2:00 p.m. EDT). Our planet's magnetic field is still reverberating from the impacts. Sky watchers everywhere should be alert for possible auroras after local nightfall. Because the moon is nearly-new, lunar glare will not interfere with faint Northern or Southern Lights.

Above: On May 28th, photographer Dominic Cantin spotted these auroras over the Laurentides wildlife reserve north of Québec city.

The ongoing geomagnetic storm might be energized further on Friday, May 30th, by the arrival of a third coronal mass ejection. Like the two that reached Earth today, the incoming CME was hurled into space by an X-class explosion near giant sunspot 365.

BIG SUNSPOT: Sunspot 365, which spans an area wider than six Earth-diameters, has been an active source of solar flares since it first appeared on May 24th. The spot is easy to see, but never stare directly at the sun. Use safe solar projection techniques instead.


A 4-day animation of fast-growing sunspot 365. Credit: SOHO

LUNAR ECLIPSE: On May 15th, sky watchers from North America to Europe saw the normally-bright full moon disappear inside Earth's shadow--the first lunar eclipse of 2003. Visit our lunar eclipse gallery and see hundreds of photos from around the world.

WEB LINKS: NOAA FORECAST | GLOSSARY | SPACE WEATHER TUTORIAL | BECOME A SUBSCRIBER | SpaceWeather PHONE



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.

On 29 May 2003 there were 513 known Potentially
Hazardous Asteroids

May 2003 Earth-asteroid encounters
ASTEROID

 MISS DISTANCE

 MAG.
6489 Golevka

 May 20

36 LD

 16
Notes: LD is a "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.

  • LEONIDS 2002: The Leonids have come and gone, but our meteor gallery keeps growing. Check out the latest additions, which include a stunning image of 44 meteors emerging from the radiant in Leo.
  • DAWN PLANETS: Just before dawn on Sunday, Dec. 1st, the planets Venus and Mars converged and formed a lovely triangle with the slender crescent Moon. [gallery]
  • NEARBY ASTEROID: Asteroid 2002 NY40 came so close to Earth on August 18th that people could see it through binoculars or small telescopes. [gallery]
  • PERSEIDS 2002: Sky watchers spotted plenty of bright shooting stars--including some colorful earthgrazers--during the 2002 Perseid meteor shower. [gallery]
  • CRESCENT SUN: See strange shadows, weird sunsets, eclipse dogs, crescent-eyed turkeys and extraordinary rings of fire photographed during the June 10th solar eclipse. [gallery]
Essential Web 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.

Solar and Heliospheric Observatory -- Realtime and archival images of the Sun from SOHO. (European Mirror Site)

Daily Sunspot Summaries -- from the NOAA Space Environment Center.

Current Solar Images --a gallery of up-to-date solar pictures from the National Solar Data Analysis Center at the Goddard Space Flight Center.

Recent Solar Events -- a nice summary of current solar conditions from lmsal.com.

SOHO Farside Images of the Sun from SWAN and MDI.

The Latest SOHO Coronagraph Images -- from the Naval Research Lab

The Sun from Earth -- daily images of our star from the Big Bear Solar Observatory

List of Potentially Hazardous Asteroids -- from the Harvard Minor Planet Center.

Observable Comets -- from the Harvard Minor Planet Center.

What is the Interplanetary Magnetic Field? -- A lucid answer from the University of Michigan. See also the Anatomy of Earth's Magnetosphere.

Real-time Solar Wind Data -- from NASA's ACE spacecraft. How powerful are solar wind gusts? Read this story from Science@NASA.

More Real-time Solar Wind Data -- from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory Proton Monitor.

Aurora Forecast --from the University of Alaska's Geophysical Institute

Daily Solar Flare and Sunspot Data -- from the NOAA Space Environment Center.

Lists of Coronal Mass Ejections -- from 1998 to 2001
What is an Iridium flare?

Vandenberg AFB missile launch schedule.

What is an Astronomical Unit, or AU?

Mirages: Mirages in Finland; An Introduction to Mirages;

NOAA Solar Flare and Sunspot Data: 1999; 2000; 2001; 2002; Jan-Mar., 2003; Apr-Jun., 2003;

Recent International Astronomical Union Circulars

 

 

 




 

 
Editor's Note: Space weather and other forecasts that appear on this site are formulated by Dr. Tony Phillips. They are not official statements of any government agency (including NASA) nor should they be construed as guarantees of space weather or other celestial activity.

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Dr. Tony Phillips
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