|   SPACE WEATHER
Current
Conditions
Solar Wind
velocity: 291.1 km/s
density:2.9 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2244 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: C2 2145 UT Mar21
24-hr: M1 0235 UT Mar21
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2245 UT
Daily Sun: 21 Mar '01 
Sunspot groups 9373, 9384 and 9390 have each unleashed an M-class solar flare since Tuesday. Active region 9373 has a beta-gamma magnetic field that may harbor energy for more such eruptions.
Sunspot Number: 98
More about sunspots
Updated: 20 Mar 2001
Radio Meteor Rate
24 hr max: 40 per hr
Listen to the Meteor Radar!
Updated: 20 Mar 2001 Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 8.4 nT
Bz: 3.7 nT north
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2246 UT Coronal Holes:
The small coronal hole indicated in this extreme ultraviolet image of the Sun is spewing a solar wind stream that Earth may encounter on Thursday or Friday. Image credit: SOHO Extreme UV Telescope.
More about coronal holes
 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 2001 Mar 21 2200 UT
| FLARE | 24 hr | 48 hr | | CLASS M | 60 % | 60 % | | 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 2001 Mar 21 2200 UT Mid-latitudes | 24 hr | 48 hr | | ACTIVE | 50 % | 25 % | | MINOR | 10 % | 05 % | | SEVERE | 05 % | 01 % |
High latitudes | 24 hr | 48 hr | | ACTIVE | 60 % | 30 % | | MINOR | 15 % | 10 % | | SEVERE | 05 % | 05 % |
| What's Up in Space -- 21 Mar 2001
Subscribe to Space Weather News! DOUBLE WHAMMY? Earth's magnetosphere could be hit by two coronal mass ejections (CMEs) before the weekend. SOHO coronagraphs spotted the first, a faint full halo CME, on March 19th. It billowed into space after a solar filament collapsed near the center of the Sun's disk. Another CME left the Sun on March 20th when a solar flare exploded near sunspot group 9373. Forecasters estimate a 10% to 15% chance of geomagnetic storms when the CMEs arrive.  AURORA PHOTOS: A strong geomagnetic storm, which began Monday when a coronal mass ejection hit Earth's magnetosphere, finally subsided on Wednesday morning. At its peak, the G3-category disturbance spawned auroras in the USA as far south as New York and Washington State. Mark Simpson captured this photo of Northern Lights over Banff National Park in Canada. For more pictures see our AURORA GALLERY.
 Above: The estimated planetary K-index (Kp), a measure of global geomagnetic activity, reached 7 on Tuesday. [more information] MIR UPDATE: On March 21, 2001, the Russian Space Agency reports that space station Mir was 220 km above Earth and losing altitude at a rate of 4.2 km per day. Deorbiting maneuvers are currently slated to begin on March 23nd. [Full Story] WEB LINKS: NOAA FORECAST | GLOSSARY | SPACE WEATHER TUTORIAL | LESSON PLANS | BECOME A SUBSCRIBER | 
Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs) are space rocks larger than ~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 searching for and discovering new ones all the time.
On 21 Mar 2001 there were 291 known Potentially
Hazardous Asteroids The most recently discovered near-Earth asteroid is 2001 EC16, a ~150m-wide space rock spotted on March 15th by Eleanor Helin and colleagues using JPL's NEAT/MSSS 1.2-meter survey telescope in Hawaii. 2001 EC16 will pass approximately four lunar distances from Earth on March 23rd. [3D orbit][ephemeris] Other upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters (Mar 1 - Apr 30) | Object | Date (UTC) | Miss Distance | | 2000 PN9 | 2001-Mar-02 17:29 | 0.0610 AU | | 1998 SF36 | 2001-Mar-29 18:37 | 0.0383 AU | | 1986 PA | 2001-Apr-03 01:06 | 0.1465 AU | | 2000 EE104 | 2001-Apr-12 20:37 | 0.0822 AU | 
- 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]
 Feb. 21, 2001: Nature's Tiniest Space Junk -- Using an experimental radar at the Marshall Space Flight Center, scientists are monitoring tiny but hazardous meteoroids that swarm around our planet. Feb. 15, 2001: The Sun Does a Flip -- NASA scientists who monitor the Sun say our star's enormous magnetic field is reversing -- a sure sign that solar maximum is here. Jan. 25, 2001: Earth's Invisible Magnetic Tail -- NASA's IMAGE spacecraft, the first to enjoy a global view of the magnetosphere, spotted a curious plasma tail pointing from Earth toward the Sun. Jan. 4, 2001: Earth at Perihelion -- On January 4, 2001, our planet made its annual closest approach to the Sun. Dec. 29, 2000: Millennium Meteors -- North Americans will have a front-row seat for a brief but powerful meteor shower on January 3, 2001. Dec. 28, 2000: Galileo Looks for Auroras on Ganymede -- NASA's durable Galileo spacecraft flew above the solar system's largest moon this morning in search of extraterrestrial "Northern Lights" Dec. 22, 2000: Watching the Angry Sun -- Solar physicists are enjoying their best-ever look at a Solar Maximum thanks to NOAA and NASA satellites. MORE SPACE WEATHER HEADLINES |
