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SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids
SPACE WEATHER
Current conditions
Solar wind
speed: 452.3 km/sec
density: 3.2 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2345 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: B4
1745 UT Jan21
24-hr: C3
0120 UT Jan21
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2340 UT
Daily Sun: 21 Jan. 10
Now that it has completed its transit around the farside of the sun and reappeared for a second time, "old sunspot 1039" has been renumbered "new sunspot 1041" in accord with sunspot numbering traditions. 1039/1041 is the most active sunspot in two years. Image credit: SOHO/MDI
Sunspot number: 16
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 20 Jan 2010

Spotless Days
Current Stretch: 0 days
2010 total: 2 days (11%)
2009 total: 260 days (71%)
Since 2004: 772 days
Typical Solar Min: 485 days
explanation | more info
Updated 20 Jan 2010


The Radio Sun
10.7 cm flux: 82 sfu
explanation | more data
Updated 20 Jan 2010

Current Auroral Oval:
Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/POES
Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 0 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 3
quiet
explanation | more data
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 5.2 nT
Bz: 1.1 nT north
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2346 UT
Coronal Holes:
There are no large coronal holes on the Earth-facing side of the sun. Credit: SOHO Extreme UV Telescope
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts
Updated at: 2010 Jan 21 2201 UTC
FLARE
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
CLASS M
35 %
35 %
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: 2010 Jan 21 2201 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
05 %
05 %
MINOR
01 %
01 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %
High latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
05 %
05 %
MINOR
01 %
01 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %
What's up in Space
January 21, 2010

SATELLITE FLYBYS APP: Turn your iPhone or iPod into a field-tested satellite tracker! Spaceweather.com presents the Satellite Flybys app.

 

INCOMING COMET: NASA's STEREO-A spacecraft has discovered another comet plunging toward the sun. The last time this happened on Jan. 4th, the comet was destroyed, and history could repeat itself later today. The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) has a good view of the comet's death plunge: movie, labels. Stay tuned for updates.

SUNSPOT UPDATE: Sunspot 1041 is calming down. After reeling off a string of five M-class solar flares between Jan. 18th and 20th, there have been no significant eruptions on Jan. 21st. For now, the active region is merely photogenic:

Amateur astronomer Dennis Simmons took the picture this morning from his backyard observatory in Brisbane, Australia.

Although it's been a calm day, the magnetic field of sunspot 1041 still harbors energy for strong eruptions. NOAA forecasters estimate a 75% chance of more M-flares during the next 24 hours. Readers with solar telescopes are encouraged to monitor developments.

more images: from Sylvain Weiller of Saint Rémy lès Chevreuse, France; from Athanasios Georgiou of Filyro, Thessaloniki, Greece; from Francisco A. Rodriguez of Cabreja Mountain Observatory, Gran Canaria Island, Canary Islands;

NORTHERN LIGHTS: As predicted, a solar wind stream hit Earth's magnetic field on Jan. 20th and sparked bright auroras around the Arctic Circle. "There were fast-moving streamers and stunning coronas," says Petter Hamnes of Mo i Rana, Norway. "It was one of the best displays I've seen in a long time." He took this picture using his Nikon D300:

The solar wind's impact caused a geomagnetic storm registering 5 on the 0-to-9 K-index scale of magnetic disturbances. It was the first geomagnetic storm of the year--but probably not the last. With active sunspot 1041 turning toward Earth, there could be more in the offing. High-latitude sky watchers should remain alert for auroras.

UPDATED: January Northern Lights Gallery
[previous Januarys: 2009, 2008, 2007, 2005, 2004, 2001]


Solar Eclipse Photo Gallery
[World Map of Eclipse Sightings]

 
       
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 January 21, 2010 there were 1093 potentially hazardous asteroids.
Jan. 2010 Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Mag.
Size
2010 AL2
Jan. 11
11.5 LD
20
23 m
24761 Ahau
Jan. 11
70.8 LD
16
1.4 km
2000 YH66
Jan. 12
69.5 LD
17
1.1 km
2010 AL30
Jan. 13
0.3 LD
14
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 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 and Heliospheric Observatory
  Realtime and archival images of the Sun from SOHO.
STEREO
  3D views of the sun from NASA's Solar and Terrestrial Relations Observatory
Daily Sunspot Summaries
  from the NOAA Space Environment Center
Current Solar Images
  from the National Solar Data Analysis Center
Science Central
   
  more links...
   
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