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SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids
 
Solar wind
speed: 443.5 km/sec
density: 5.1 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2347 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: C1
1703 UT Dec17
24-hr: C1
1502 UT Dec17
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2300 UT
Daily Sun: 17 Dec 12
None of the spots on the Earthside of the sun is actively flaring. Credit: SDO/HMI
Sunspot number: 74
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 17 Dec 2012

Spotless Days
Current Stretch: 0 days
2012 total: 0 days (0%)
2011 total: 2 days (<1%)
2010 total: 51 days (14%)
2009 total: 260 days (71%)
Since 2004: 821 days
Typical Solar Min: 486 days

Update 17 Dec 2012


The Radio Sun
10.7 cm flux: 122 sfu
explanation | more data
Updated 17 Dec 2012

Current Auroral Oval:
Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/POES
Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 1 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 4
unsettled
explanation | more data
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 7.5 nT
Bz: 1 nT south
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2347 UT
Coronal Holes: 17 Dec 12
Earth is entering a stream of solar wind flowing from the indicated coronal hole. Credit: SDO/AIA.
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts
Updated at: 2012 Dec 17 2200 UTC
FLARE
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
CLASS M
15 %
15 %
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: 2012 Dec 17 2200 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
15 %
10 %
MINOR
05 %
05 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %
High latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
15 %
15 %
MINOR
20 %
25 %
SEVERE
20 %
20 %
 
Monday, Dec. 17, 2012
What's up in space
 

Hang the Transit of Venus on your wall! Hubble-quality images from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory are now available as metallic posters in the Space Weather Store.

 
Venus Transit metal posters

LUNAR IMPACTS TODAY: NASA's twin lunar gravity probes, nickhamed Ebb and Flow, will collide with a mountain near the Moon's north pole today, Dec. 17, at 5:28 pm EST. Get the full story from Science@NASA.

SOLAR WIND: Earth is entering a stream of high-speed solar wind. The source of the wind, a coronal hole on the sun, is shown in this image taken by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory during the early hours of Dec. 17th:

A coronal hole is a place in the sun's atmosphere where the solar magnetic field opens up and allows solar wind to escape. This particular coronal hole is located far down in the sun's southern's hemisphere, so the stream it is emitting is not heading directly for our planet. To some degree, this will mitigate its impact on Earth. At the moment, NOAA forecasters are estimating a relatively slight 20% chance of geomagnetic storms. Nevertheless, high-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras. Aurora alerts: text, voice.

Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery

GEMINID METEOR RECAP: Earth has exited the debris stream of rock comet 3200 Phaethon, which brings an end to the annual Geminid meteor shower. On peak night, Dec. 14th, worldwide observers counted more than 100 meteors per hour, many of them fireballs (meteors brighter than Venus). David Clapp photographed this one streaking over the icy waters of Kirkjufell, Iceland:

"This was one amazing moment," says Clapp.

Note: Although the meteor appears to be flying mostly-above the auroras, it is more likely below. Geminid meteors burn up approximately 80 km above Earth's surface, while auroras stretch from 100 km to 500 km high.

Pictures of Geminids are still pouring in. Browse the photo gallery to see the most popular photos submitted so far:

"Most Popular" Geminid Photo Gallery


Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery


Realtime Noctilucent Cloud Photo Gallery
[previous years: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011]

  Near Earth Asteroids
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 is on a collision course with our planet, although astronomers are finding new ones all the time.
On December 17, 2012 there were 1360 potentially hazardous asteroids.
Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Size
2012 XN134
Dec 13
4.6 LD
12 m
2012 XB112
Dec 14
0.8 LD
2 m
2012 XP134
Dec 15
1.2 LD
13 m
2012 XL134
Dec 15
0.7 LD
12 m
2012 XH112
Dec 15
1.7 LD
18 m
2012 XM16
Dec 16
3.1 LD
31 m
2003 SD220
Dec 23
59.8 LD
1.8 km
1998 WT24
Dec 23
69.2 LD
1.1 km
2012 XM55
Dec 23
3 LD
12 m
2012 XP55
Dec 27
9.1 LD
68 m
1999 HA2
Feb 5
58 LD
1.3 km
3752 Camillo
Feb 12
57.5 LD
3.4 km
1999 YK5
Feb 15
49.1 LD
2.1 km
2012 DA14
Feb 15
0.09 LD
57 m
2009 AV
Feb 25
59.7 LD
1.0 km
Notes: LD means "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.
  Essential web links
NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center
  The official U.S. government space weather bureau
Atmospheric Optics
  The first place to look for information about sundogs, pillars, rainbows and related phenomena.
Solar Dynamics Observatory
  Researchers call it a "Hubble for the sun." SDO is the most advanced solar observatory ever.
STEREO
  3D views of the sun from NASA's Solar and Terrestrial Relations Observatory
Solar and Heliospheric Observatory
  Realtime and archival images of the Sun from SOHO.
Daily Sunspot Summaries
  from the NOAA Space Environment Center
Heliophysics
  the underlying science of space weather
Space Weather Alerts
   
  more links...
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