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Solar wind
speed: 578.4 km/sec
density: 2.0 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2349 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: C1
1801 UT Apr17
24-hr: C2
0137 UT Apr17
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2300 UT
Daily Sun: 17 Apr 15
Sunspots AR2321 and AR2324 have 'beta-gamma' magnetic fields that harbors energy for M-class solar flares. Credit: SDO/HMI

Sunspot number: 85
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 17 Apr 2015

Spotless Days
Current Stretch: 0 days
2015 total: 0 days (0%)

2014 total: 1 day (<1%)
2013 total: 0 days (0%)
2012 total: 0 days (0%)
2011 total: 2 days (<1%)
2010 total: 51 days (14%)
2009 total: 260 days (71%)

Updated 17 Apr 2015


The Radio Sun
10.7 cm flux: 150 sfu
explanation | more data
Updated 17 Apr 2015

Current Auroral Oval:
Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/Ovation
Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 3 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 5
storm
explanation | more data
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 3.0 nT
Bz: 1.2 nT north
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2349 UT
Coronal Holes: 17 Apr 15

Earth is inside a stream of solar wind flowing from the indicated coronal hole. Credit: SDO/AIA.
Noctilucent Clouds The southern season for NLCs has come to an end. The last clouds were observed by NASA's AIM spacecraft on Feb. 20, 2015. Now attention shifts to the northern hemisphere, where the first clouds of 2015 should appear in mid-May.
Switch view: Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctic Penninsula, East Antarctica, Polar
Updated at: 02-28-2015 02:55:03
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts
Updated at: 2015 Apr 17 2200 UTC
FLARE
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
CLASS M
40 %
40 %
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: 2015 Apr 17 2200 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
30 %
20 %
MINOR
10 %
05 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %
High latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
15 %
15 %
MINOR
30 %
30 %
SEVERE
40 %
25 %
 
Friday, Apr. 17, 2015
What's up in space
 

Come to Tromsø and share Marianne's passion for rural photography: Chasethelighttours.co.uk invites you to experience "Heaven on Earth" with an aurora, fjord, fishing, whale watching, photography or sightseeing tour.

 
Chase the Light Tours

CHANCE OF EARTH-DIRECTED FLARES: So far on April 17th, solar activity is low. Sunspot AR2321 is poised to break the quiet. The sprawling sunspot group is directly facing Earth and has an unstable 'beta-gamma' magnetic field that harbors energy for significant eruptions. NOAA forecasters estimate 40% chance of M-flares and a 10% chance of X-flares during the next 24 hours. Solar flare alerts: text, voice.

SOLAR WIND SPARKS BRIGHT AURORAS: For the third day in a row, Earth is passing through a stream of high-speed solar wind. The sustained encounter has sparked some of the brightest auroras of the year around the Arctic Circle. Rune Askeland sends this example from Bergen, Norway, on April 17th:

"It is not often that we observe such bright auroras--even here in Norway," says Askeland. "Last night was magic."

During the display over Norway, the geomagnetic storm registered G2 or "moderate" on NOAA storm scales. In North America, that was enough to send auroras spilling over the US-Canadian border as far south as Montana, Wyoming, Washington, Michigan, Minnesota, and Idaho.

NOAA forecasters estimate a 45% chance of G1-class storming on April 17th as the solar wind continues to blow. Aurora alerts: text, voice.

Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery

CORONAL HOLE: NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) is monitoring a hole in the sun's atmosphere--a "coronal hole." It is colored deep-blue in this extreme UV image of the sun taken by SDO on April 17th:

Coronal holes are places where the sun's magnetic field opens up and allows solar wind to escape. In the image, above, the sun's magnetic field is traced by white loops. Arrows show the flow of material out of the hole.

Holes in the sun's atmosphere are not unusual; they appear several times each month. A stream of solar wind flowing from this particular coronal hole will probably reach Earth on April 21st. This means we could have auroras for Earth Day. Stay tuned. Aurora alerts: text, voice

Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery


Realtime Eclipse Photo Gallery


Realtime Comet Photo Gallery


  All Sky Fireball Network

Every night, a network of NASA all-sky cameras scans the skies above the United States for meteoritic fireballs. Automated software maintained by NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office calculates their orbits, velocity, penetration depth in Earth's atmosphere and many other characteristics. Daily results are presented here on Spaceweather.com.

On Apr. 17, 2015, the network reported 3 fireballs.
(3 sporadics)

In this diagram of the inner solar system, all of the fireball orbits intersect at a single point--Earth. The orbits are color-coded by velocity, from slow (red) to fast (blue). [Larger image] [movies]

  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 April 17, 2015 there were potentially hazardous asteroids.
Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Size
2015 GB1
Apr 13
6 LD
20 m
2015 GK
Apr 13
2.8 LD
30 m
2015 GA1
Apr 16
2.5 LD
21 m
2015 GL13
Apr 16
0.5 LD
8 m
2015 GY12
Apr 19
13.7 LD
31 m
2015 GB14
Apr 28
8.9 LD
39 m
5381 Sekhmet
May 17
62.8 LD
2.1 km
2005 XL80
Jun 4
38.1 LD
1.0 km
2012 XB112
Jun 11
10.1 LD
2 m
2005 VN5
Jul 7
12.6 LD
18 m
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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