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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

speed: 432.5 km/s
density:
0.8 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2256 UT

X-ray Solar Flares

6-hr max:
C1 1650 UT Jul08
24-hr: C4 0730 UT Jul08
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2245 UT

Daily Sun: 08 Jul '03
Growing sunspot 375 poses a slim threat for X-class solar flares. Image credit: BBSO

The Far Side of the Sun

This holographic image reveals no large sunspots on the far side of the Sun. Image credit: SOHO/MDI

Sunspot Number: 140
What is the sunspot number?
Updated: 07 Jul 2003

Coronal Holes:

Solar wind gusts from the indicated coronal hole could reach earth as early as July 10th. Image credit: SOHO Extreme UV Telescope
More about coronal holes

Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 6.9 nT
Bz:
0.4 nT north
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 Jul 08 2200 UTC
FLARE 0-24 hr 24-48 hr
CLASS M 50 % 50 %
CLASS X 10 % 10 %

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 Jul 08 2200 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr 24-48 hr
ACTIVE 25 % 25 %
MINOR 05 % 05 %
SEVERE 02 % 02 %

High latitudes
0-24 hr 24-48 hr
ACTIVE 30 % 30 %
MINOR 15 % 15 %
SEVERE 01 % 01 %

What's Up in Space -- 8 Jul 2003
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AURORA OUTLOOK: Sky watchers should be alert for auroras on or about July 10th when Earth will encounter a high-speed solar wind stream flowing from a coronal hole on the sun.

Would you like a phone call when auroras appear over your home town? Sign up for Spaceweather PHONE.

Above: On July 2nd, a summer lightning storm rolled in beneath a curtain of Northern Lights over Manitoba, Canada. "This is only the second time I've seen a scene like this," says veteran aurora photographer Chris Gray, who used a D100 Nikon camera set at f2.8 and ISO 1000 to capture this 30-second exposure.

GOODBYE AGAIN: Giant sunspot 375 will soon vanish as the sun's rotation carries it over the western limb of our star. The sun rotates on its axis once every 27 days, and this is the second time we've seen sunspot 375 cross the Earth-facing side of the sun. How long will this active region last? The lifetime of a typical sunspot is only a few days or weeks. Bigger spots last longer than smaller ones do. It's possible that sunspot 375 will persist and begin a rare third transit of our star two weeks from now.

Above: Bob Sandy of Virginia captured this picture of sunspot 375 on July 8th. The active region stretches approximately 10 Earth-diameters from end to end. It's is easy to see--but never stare directly at the sun. Always use safe solar observing techniques.


Spaceweather PHONE | Upcoming Events | Archives



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 8 Jul 2003 there were 519 known Potentially
Hazardous Asteroids

June-July 2003 Earth-asteroid encounters
ASTEROID

 MISS DISTANCE

 MAG.
1998 FH12

 June 27

20 LD

 16
2003 MS2

 July 2

10 LD

 21
2003 MS3

 July 4

27 LD

 19
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.

  • 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.
  • 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. See also the GOES-12 Soft X-ray Imager.

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

GLOSSARY | SPACE WEATHER TUTORIAL

 

 

 




 

 
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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