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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: 660.3 km/s
density:
1.3 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2245 UT


X-ray Solar Flares

6-hr max:
M1 2120 UT Dec02
24-hr: M5 0250 UT Dec02
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2245 UT

Daily Sun: 02 Dec '05

Sunnspot 826 is growing rapidly and poses a threat for strong solar flares. Credit: SOHO/MDI


Sunspot Number: 79
What is the sunspot number?
Updated: 01 Dec 2005

Far Side of the Sun

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

Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 4.6 nT
Bz:
1.6 nT south
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2246 UT

Coronal Holes:

Earth is inside a solar wind stream flowing from the indicated coronal hole. Image credit: SOHO Extreme UV Telescope.


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 2005 Dec 01 2204 UTC
FLARE 0-24 hr 24-48 hr
CLASS M 50 % 50 %
CLASS X 15 % 15 %

Geomagnetic Storms: Probabilities for significant disturbances in Earth's magnetic field are given for three activity levels: active, minor storm, severe storm
Updated at 2005 Dec 01 2204 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr 24-48 hr
ACTIVE 25 % 20 %
MINOR 10 % 05 %
SEVERE 05 % 01 %

High latitudes
0-24 hr 24-48 hr
ACTIVE 30 % 25 %
MINOR 15 % 10 %
SEVERE 10 % 05 %

What's Up in Space -- 2 Dec 2005
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SOLAR FLARES: Magnetic fields connected to sunspot 826 (see below) have erupted twice today, producing strong M-class solar flares. The explosions did not hurl coronal mass ejections toward Earth, so geomagnetic storms are, for now, unlikely. Stay tuned for updates.

EXPANDING SUNSPOT: Sunspot 826 is growing quickly. In only two days it has ballooned from a barely-visible speck to a sprawling group almost as wide as the planet Jupiter:

Above: a 48-hour movie of sunspot 826. Credit: SOHO.

If you have a safely-filtered solar telescope, take a look at this 'spot. It is changing by the hour. The magnetic field of a fast-changing sunspot like 826 can easily become unstable and explode. NOAA forecasters estimate a 15% chance of X-class solar flares during the next 24 hours.

SHADOWS OF VENUS: Venus is reaching its peak brightness for 2005. How bright is it? You can see Venus in broad daylight, if you know where to look. And at night it actually casts shadows. (continued below)

Above: Venus illuminates the crystal-clear waters of Flic-en-Flac beach on the island of Mauritius. Nov. 14, 2005. Photo credit: Jean-Paul Godard.

Venus shadows are delicate, elusive, and if you appreciate rare things, a thrill to witness. Instructions: Find a dark site with no manmade lights. When the sunset sky fades to black, while Venus is still well above the horizon, hold your hand in front of something white (e.g., a piece of paper or a white T-shirt) and let the shadows materialize. Not everyone can see them, but it's fun to look.



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 2 Dec 2005 there were 743 known Potentially
Hazardous Asteroids

August 2005 Earth-asteroid encounters
ASTEROID

 DATE (UT)

 MISS DISTANCE

 MAG.
1992 UY4

August 8

16 LD

 12
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.

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.

Atmospheric Optics -- the first place to look for information about sundogs, pillars, rainbows and related phenomena. See also Snow Crystals.

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 Solar 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

Lists of Coronal Mass Ejections -- from 1998 to 2001

Mirages: Mirages in Finland; An Introduction to Mirages;

NOAA Solar Flare and Sunspot Data: 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999; 2000; 2001; 2002; 2003; 2004; Jan-Mar 2005; Apr-Jun 2005; Jul-Sep 2005; Oct-Dec 2005;

Space Audio Streams: (University of Florida) 20 MHz radio emissions from Jupiter: #1, #2, #3, #4; (NASA/Marshall) INSPIRE: #1; (Stan Nelson of Roswell, New Mexico) meteor radar: #1, #2;

Recent International Astronomical Union Circulars

GLOSSARY | SPACE WEATHER TUTORIAL

This site is penned daily by Dr. Tony Phillips: email

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