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

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Science news and information about the Sun-Earth environment.

SPACE WEATHER
Current
Conditions

Solar Wind

velocity: 519.3 km/s
density:
3.8 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 0026 UT

X-ray Solar Flares

6-hr max:
M1 2245 UT Jan14
24-hr: M4 0625 UT Jan14
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2245 UT

Daily Sun: 14 Jan '02
Active regions 9773 and 9778 have delta-class magnetic fields that harbor energy for X-class solar flares. Sunspot 9775 has a beta-gamma magnetic field that could unleash M-class flares. Image credit: SOHO/MDI

The Far Side of the Sun

This holographic image reveals a substantial active region on the far side of the Sun. Image credit: SOHO/MDI

Sunspot Number: 174
More about sunspots
Updated: 12 Jan 2002

Radio Meteor Rate
24 hr max:
19 per hr
Listen to the Meteor Radar!
Updated: 14 Jan 2002

Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 5.7 nT
Bz:
1.1 nT south
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 0026 UT

Coronal Holes:

Earth is now exiting a solar wind stream flowing from the indicated coronal hole. Image credit: SOHO Extreme UV 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 2002 Jan 13 2200 UT
FLARE 0-24 hr 24-48 hr
CLASS M 75 % 75 %
CLASS X 20 % 20 %

Geomagnetic Storms: Probabilities for significant disturbances in Earth's magnetic field are given for three activity levels: active, minor storm, severe storm
Updated at 2002 Jan 13 2200 UT

Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr 24-48 hr
ACTIVE 25 % 20 %
MINOR 15 % 10 %
SEVERE 05 % 01 %

High latitudes
0-24 hr 24-48 hr
ACTIVE 25 % 20 %
MINOR 15 % 10 %
SEVERE 05 % 01 %


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What's Up in Space -- 14 Jan 2002
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FIGURE-EIGHT: An M4-class eruption on the Sun today hurled a bright coronal mass ejection (CME) into space. Hot gas and twisted magnetic fields within the expanding cloud formed an eye-catching "figure-8" shape in SOHO coronagraph images (right). This CME could buffet Earth's magnetosphere on Wednesday, Jan. 16th. Stay tuned for details.

SUNSPOTS: An impressive array of sunspots is rotating across the face of our star. Active regions 9773 and 9778 have twisted "delta-class" magnetic fields that harbor energy for X-class explosions.

NORTHERN LIGHTS: Solar wind gusts flowing from a coronal hole buffeted Earth's magnetosphere on Jan. 11th, igniting auroras over Canada, Alaska, and the northern tier of US states. Sky watcher Joe Slagle captured this beautiful scene over the Chugach Mountains near Anchorage. Click for more images.

COMET ENCOUNTER: Last week periodic comet 96P/Machholz put on a dazzling show as it swung by the Sun. On Jan. 8th, the comet was only 0.12 AU from our star -- even closer to the Sun than Mercury. During the fiery encounter sunlight warmed and melted part of the comet's icy nucleus; dusty vapors formed a long tail.

Although human eyes couldn't see the encounter, coronagraphs on board the orbiting Solar and Heliospheric Observatory could. A coronagraph is a device that blocks the Sun's glare behind an opaque disk. These coronagraph movies show the Sun, Venus (a bright point to the lower right of the Sun), and the comet from Jan. 7th to 10th: small (0.32 MB), medium (0.85 MB), large (1.6 MB).

A remarkable scene, pictured above, unfolded on January 8th when a coronal mass ejection (CME) billowed away from the Sun just as comet 96P/Machholz reached perihelion. Although the CME appears to envelop the comet, it did not. Unlike many Sun-approaching comets, notably the "Kreutz sungrazers," 96P/Machholz survived its fiery experience and will return again in 2007.

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.

On 14 Jan 2002 there were 370 known Potentially
Hazardous Asteroids

Jan. 2002 Earth-asteroid encounters
ASTEROID

 MISS DISTANCE

 MAG.
2001 YE4

 Jan. 5

 13.3 LD

 17
2002 AV

 Jan. 6

 14.5 LD

 16
2001 YB5

 Jan. 7

 2.1 LD

 12
4660 Nereus

 Jan. 22

 11.3 LD

 23
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.

  • ASTEROID FLYBY: Asteroid 2001 YB5 raced past Earth on Jan. 7, 2002, only two times farther away than the Moon. [gallery]
  • SUBTLE ECLIPSE: The Moon dipped into the outskirts of Earth's shadow on Dec. 30, 2001. [gallery]
  • MOON & SATURN: The Moon keeps getting in the way of Saturn! See the series of close encounters here.
  • CHRISTMAS LIGHTS: On Christmas Eve, 2001, a solar wind stream triggered Northern Lights. [gallery]
  • SOLAR ECLIPSE: Sky watchers in Hawaii and most parts of North America experienced a partial solar eclipse on Dec. 14th. [gallery]
  • BRIGHT ASTEROID: Videos and images of 1998 WT24 -- a big and bright near-Earth asteroid that came close to our planet on Dec. 16, 2001. [gallery]
  • NORTHERN LIGHTS: On Nov. 24th a pair of coronal mass ejections swept past Earth and triggered worldwide auroras.
  • LEONIDS 2001: Some people saw it. Others heard it. In either case, they'll never forget it: The 2001 Leonid meteor storm.
  • PERSEIDS 2001: Perseid watchers on August 12th spotted meteors, auroras, and a disintegrating Russian rocket! [gallery]
  • MORNING PLANETS: In July and Aug. 2001, the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, and Mercury put on a dazzling early-morning sky show. [gallery]
  • ECLIPSE SAFARI: Onlookers cried out in delight on June 21, 2001, when the Moon covered the African Sun, revealing the dazzling corona. [gallery]
  • 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]

Nov. 7 , 2001: What Lies beneath a Sunspot -- Awesome plasma hurricanes were one of the surprises revealed when scientists peered beneath the stormy surface of our star.

Oct. 26 , 2001: 'tis the Season for Auroras -- Autumn is a good time to spot Northern Lights.

Oct. 17, 2001: Halley's Comet Returns ... in bits and pieces -- The annual Orionid meteor shower peaks on October 21st.

Aug. 9, 2001: Horse Flies and Meteors -- Like bugs streaking down the side window of a moving car, long and colorful Perseid Earthgrazers could put on a remarkable show on August 11th.

July 27, 2001: Meteorites Don't Pop Corn -- A fireball that dazzled Americans on July 23rd probably didn't scorch any cornfields, contrary to widespread reports.

June 12, 2001: The Biggest Explosions in the Solar System -- NASA's HESSI spacecraft aims to unravel an explosive mystery: the origin of solar flares.



 

 

 

 

 

 
Editor's Note: Space weather forecasts that appear on this site are based in part on data from NASA and NOAA satellites and ground-monitoring stations. Predictions and explanations are formulated by Dr. Tony Phillips; they are not official statements of any government organ or guarantees of space weather activity.

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.

SOHO Farside Images of the Sun from SWAN and MDI.

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

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.

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 Astronomical Unit, or AU?

Solar Flare and Sunspot Data: January - December 1999 -- from the NOAA Space Environment Center.

Solar Flare and Sunspot Data: January - December 2000 -- from the NOAA Space Environment Center.

Quarterly Solar Flare and Sunspot Data: January - March 2001 -- from the NOAA Space Environment Center.

Quarterly Solar Flare and Sunspot Data: April - June 2001 -- from the NOAA Space Environment Center.

Quarterly Solar Flare and Sunspot Data: July - Sept 2001 -- from the NOAA Space Environment Center.

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