SPACE WEATHER Current Conditions Solar Wind speed: 486.0 km/s density:6.3 protons/cm3 explanation | more data Updated: Today at 2152 UT X-ray Solar Flares 6-hr max: C1 1755 UT Nov03 24-hr: M1 1400 UT Nov03 explanation | more data Updated: Today at 2245 UT Daily Sun: 03 Nov '02 The Sun is peppered with spots. Active region 177 poses a threat for M-class flares. Image credit: SOHO/MDI The Far Side of the Sun This holographic image reveals no big sunspots on the far side of the Sun. Image credit: SOHO/MDI Sunspot Number: 177 What is the sunspot number? Updated: 02 Nov 2002 Coronal Holes: A solar wind stream flowing from the indicated coronal hole will likely buffet Earth's magnetic field on or about Nov. 4th. Image credit: SOHO Extreme UV Telescope. More about coronal holes Interplanetary Mag. Field Btotal: 9.5 nT Bz: 7.3 nT south explanation | more data Updated: Today at 2155 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 2002 Nov 03 2200 UTC FLARE | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | CLASS M | 50 % | 50 % | CLASS X | 05 % | 05 % | 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 Nov 03 2200 UTC Mid-latitudes | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | ACTIVE | 35 % | 30 % | MINOR | 20 % | 10 % | SEVERE | 10 % | 05 % | High latitudes | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | ACTIVE | 40 % | 35 % | MINOR | 25 % | 20 % | SEVERE | 10 % | 10 % | Web server provided by VPS Hosting | What's Up in Space -- 3 Nov 2002 Subscribe to Space Weather News! AURORA OUTLOOK: Earth is heading for a solar wind stream flowing from a coronal hole on the Sun. Auroras could appear on Nov. 4th when solar wind gusts buffet our planet's magnetosphere. Right: A hint of things to come? Philippe Moussette spotted these green auroras over Québec on Nov. 2nd. SPACE ROCK: Asteroid 1997 XF11, which briefly scared astronomers five years ago, is close to Earth again. Amateur astronomers with telescopes and CCD cameras can detect the space rock this weekend. Read the full story from Science@NASA. SUNDOGS: Have you ever noticed a rainbow-colored splash of light in the sky on a cloudy day? It was probably a sundog. Ice crystals in high-altitude clouds bend sunlight, creating all kinds of colorful rings and arcs--and this is a good time of year to see them. Read the full story from Science@NASA. Above: Dieter Klatt of Oldenburg, Germany, watched this lovely sundog disperse (#1, #2, #3) in only 28 seconds on Oct. 31st. AURORA SEASON: October was a good month for auroras. Sky watchers spotted weird ring-shaped auroras, auroras in Arizona, auroras in Tasmania, and some auroras that were positively spooky! 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 3 Nov 2002 there were 471 known Potentially Hazardous Asteroids Nov. 2002 Earth-asteroid encountersNotes: 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. - SUMMER AURORAS: August was a good month for auroras. Visit our gallery and see what happened in the skies of Europe and North America.
- NEARBY ASTEROID: Asteroid 2002 NY40 came so close to Earth on August 18th that people could see it through binoculars or small telescopes. [gallery]
- PERSIEDS 2002: Sky watchers spotted plenty of bright shooting stars--including some colorful earthgrazers--during the 2002 Perseid meteor shower. [gallery]
- AURORA SURPRISE: An unexpected geomagnetic storm began on August 1st as night fell across North America. Sky watchers spotted vivid auroras over both the United States and Canada.
- CRESCENT SUN: The June 10th solar eclipse is long over, but new pictures of the event keep appearing. Visit our growing photo gallery and see for yourself. There are strange shadows, weird sunsets, eclipse dogs, crescent-eyed turkeys and extraordinary rings of fire. [more]
- COMET IKEYA-ZHANG: The brightest comet in years delighted sky watchers in March and April 2002. [gallery]
- GONE JUPITER: On Feb. 22, 2002, the Moon had a close encounter with Jupiter. [gallery]
- GONE SATURN: On Feb. 20, 2002, the Moon glided in front of Saturn and its mysterious rings. [gallery]
- HOT COMET: Periodic comet 96P/Machholz put on a dazzling show as it swung by the Sun on Jan. 8, 2002.
- 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]
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