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

X-ray Solar Flares

6-hr max:
M1 1855 UT Oct24
24-hr: M7 0250 UT Oct24
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2245 UT

Daily Sun: 24 Oct '03
Sunspots 484 and 486 pose a threat for strong X-class solar flares. Image credit: SOHO MDI

The Far Side of the Sun

This holographic image reveals one large sunspot on the far side of the Sun. Image credit: SOHO/MDI


Sunspot Number: 122
What is the sunspot number?
Updated: 23 Oct 2003

Coronal Holes:

Earth could encounter a solar wind stream flowing from the indicated coronal hole as soon as Oct. 27th. Image credit: SOHO Extreme UV Telescope
More about coronal holes

Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 34.0 nT
Bz:
22.3 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 Oct 24 2200 UTC
FLARE 0-24 hr 24-48 hr
CLASS M 90 % 90 %
CLASS X 45 % 45 %

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 Oct 24 2200 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr 24-48 hr
ACTIVE 30 % 40 %
MINOR 40 % 30 %
SEVERE 30 % 20 %

High latitudes
0-24 hr 24-48 hr
ACTIVE 20 % 20 %
MINOR 40 % 40 %
SEVERE 40 % 40 %

What's Up in Space -- 24 Oct 2003
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ARIZONA AURORAS: Many people think you can only see auroras from far-north places like Alaska and Canada. Not so. Photographer Chris Schur catches them surprisingly often from Arizona. Pictured right, for example, are some deep red auroras Chris photographed on Oct. 21st. Click here to learn how he does it.

Such auroras are possible tonight throughout the United States and much of Europe. A coronal mass ejection en route to Earth could trigger a strong geomagnetic storm. Sky watchers at high and middle latitudes should be alert for beautiful lights in the sky. [gallery]

CME IMPACT: A coronal mass ejection (CME) swept past Earth at approximately 1500 UT (8:00 a.m. PDT) on Oct. 24th and triggered a strong (Kp=7) geomagnetic storm. This ongoing storm will probably subside before nightfall over North America. Even so, skywatchers should remain alert for auroras because another CME is coming. It could reach Earth tonight or tomorrow and trigger a new round of storms.

GIANT SUNSPOTS: Astronomers can't remember the last time this happened: two Jupiter-sized sunspots crossing the face of the sun at the same time. (continued below)

Above: Sunspots 484 and 486 on Oct. 23rd. Credit: Bob Sandy of Roanoke County, Virginia

Sunspots 484 and 486 are intense sources of solar activity (more on this below) and big enough to see with the unaided eye--but never look directly at the sun. Use safe solar observing methods instead.

SOLAR EXPLOSIONS: Solar activity remains high. Strong solar flares are erupting every 8 hours or so from the two big sunspots 484 and 486. The most powerful so far was an X5-class flare from sunspot 486 on Oct. 23rd at 8:35 UT. The explosion hurled a coronal mass ejection (CME) into space. See the movie. Although the CME was not Earth-directed, it could deliver a glancing blow to our planet's magnetic field as early as Oct 24th, although the 25th is more likely.



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 24 Oct 2003 there were 540 known Potentially
Hazardous Asteroids

October 2003 Earth-asteroid encounters
ASTEROID

 MISS DISTANCE

 MAG.
2003 SS84

Oct. 11

8 LD

 17
1998 FG2

Oct. 21

15 LD

 17
2003 TL4

Oct. 26

12 LD

 15
2001 KZ66

Oct. 30

31 LD

 16
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.

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 Soft 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

Daily Solar Flare and Sunspot Data -- from the NOAA Space Environment Center.

Lists of Coronal Mass Ejections -- from 1998 to 2001

What is an Iridium flare? See also Photographing Satellites by Brian Webb.

Vandenberg AFB missile launch schedule.

What is an Astronomical Unit, or AU?

Mirages: Mirages in Finland; An Introduction to Mirages;

NOAA Solar Flare and Sunspot Data: 1999; 2000; 2001; 2002; Jan-Mar., 2003; Apr-Jun., 2003;

Recent International Astronomical Union Circulars

GLOSSARY | SPACE WEATHER TUTORIAL

 

 

 




 

 
Editor's Note: Space weather and other forecasts that appear on this site are formulated by Dr. Tony Phillips. They are not official statements of any government agency (including NASA) nor should they be construed as guarantees of space weather or other celestial activity.

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Dr. Tony Phillips
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