SPACE WEATHER Current Conditions Solar Wind speed: 642.3 km/s density: 5.4 protons/cm3 explanation | more data Updated: Today at 2245 UT X-ray Solar Flares 6-hr max: B5 2245 UT Jan22 24-hr: C9 0445 UT Jan22 explanation | more data Updated: Today at 2245 UT Daily Sun: 22 Jan '03 Sunspot 269 unleashed an M-class solar flare on Tuesday. It merits watching as a possible source of additional explosions. Image credit: SOHO/MDI The Far Side of the Sun This holographic image reveals perhaps one or two sunspot groups on the far side of the Sun. Image credit: SOHO/MDI Sunspot Number: 167 What is the sunspot number? Updated: 21 Jan 2003 Coronal Holes: Earth is inside a solar wind stream flowing from the indicated coronal hole. Gusts will continue to buffet Earth's magnetosphere for the next few days. Image credit: SOHO Extreme UV Telescope. More about coronal holes Interplanetary Mag. Field Btotal: 9.6 nT Bz: 6.9 nT north explanation | more data Updated: Today at 2246 UT 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 2003 Jan 22 2200 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 2003 Jan 22 2200 UTC Mid-latitudes | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | ACTIVE | 40 % | 40 % | MINOR | 25 % | 20 % | SEVERE | 10 % | 10 % | High latitudes | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | ACTIVE | 45 % | 45 % | MINOR | 25 % | 30 % | SEVERE | 15 % | 15 % | | What's Up in Space -- 22 Jan 2003 Subscribe to Space Weather News! SOLAR ACTIVITY: Twisted magnetic fields above sunspot 269 erupted on Jan. 21st. The explosion sparked an M2-class solar flare and hurled a coronal mass ejection (CME, pictured right) into space--but not toward Earth. Active region 269 is hard to see because it is so close to the Sun's eastern limb. It merits watching, however, as a possible source of additional explosions. AURORA OUTLOOK: Earth is inside a solar wind stream flowing from a coronal hole on the Sun. So far geomagnetic activity remains low, but it could increase during the days ahead as solar wind gusts buffet Earth's magnetic field. The strongest gusts are expected on Jan. 23rd and 24th. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras. Above: Chuck Johnson photographed these auroras (and the full Moon) over the Cleary Summit Bed & Breakfast, AK, on Jan. 20th. STARSHINE RETURNS: Prof. Gil Moore, the director of Project Starshine, reports: "The Starshine 3 satellite re-entered Earth's atmosphere shortly after 0500 UT (midnight EST) on January 21, 2003. It was on a ground track that passed over central California, Nevada, Idaho and western Canada, swept across Hudson's Bay in Canada, over the southern tip of Greenland, down along the eastern coast of Scotland and England, continuing in a southeasterly direction along the length of Italy, across the Mediterranean and into North Africa. That covers a lot of populated territory, and I'm really hoping someone saw it." If you saw the fireball or (better yet) took its picture, please let us know! WEB LINKS: NOAA FORECAST | GLOSSARY | SPACE WEATHER TUTORIAL | BECOME A SUBSCRIBER | SpaceWeather PHONE | 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 are on a collision course with our planet, although astronomers are finding new ones all the time. On 22 Jan 2003 there were 487 known Potentially Hazardous Asteroids Jan. 2003 Earth-asteroid encounters 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. - LEONIDS 2002: The Leonids have come and gone, but our meteor gallery keeps growing. Check out the latest additions, which include a stunning image of 44 meteors emerging from the radiant in Leo.
- DAWN PLANETS: Just before dawn on Sunday, Dec. 1st, the planets Venus and Mars converged and formed a lovely triangle with the slender crescent Moon. [gallery]
- SUMMER AURORAS: August was a good month for auroras. Visit our gallery and see what happened in the skies of Europe and North America.
- NEARBY ASTEROID: Asteroid 2002 NY40 came so close to Earth on August 18th that people could see it through binoculars or small telescopes. [gallery]
- PERSEIDS 2002: Sky watchers spotted plenty of bright shooting stars--including some colorful earthgrazers--during the 2002 Perseid meteor shower. [gallery]
- AURORA SURPRISE: An unexpected geomagnetic storm began on August 1st as night fell across North America. Sky watchers spotted vivid auroras over both the United States and Canada.
- CRESCENT SUN: See strange shadows, weird sunsets, eclipse dogs, crescent-eyed turkeys and extraordinary rings of fire photographed during the June 10th solar eclipse. [gallery]
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