|   SPACE WEATHER
Current
Conditions
Solar Wind
velocity: 592.8 km/s
density:4.3 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2245 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: B8 1940 UT May27
24-hr: B8 1940 UT May27
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2245 UT
Daily Sun: 26 May '01 
None of the sunspots in this image have magnetic fields more complex than beta-class. Isolated M-class flares from 9463 are possible, but not very likely. Image credit: SOHO/MDI
The Far Side of the Sun
This holographic image reveals no substantial spots on the far side of the Sun. Image credit: SOHO/MDI
Sunspot Number: 167
More about sunspots
Updated: 26 May 2001
Radio Meteor Rate
24 hr max: 26 per hr
Listen to the Meteor Radar!
Updated: 25 May 2001 Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 10.5 nT
Bz: 2.9 nT north
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2246 UT Coronal Holes:
A new coronal hole is emerging near the Sun's southeast limb. Image credit: SOHO Extreme UV Telescope 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 May 27 2200 UT
| FLARE | 24 hr | 48 hr | | CLASS M | 20 % | 20 % | | 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 May 27 2200 UT Mid-latitudes | 24 hr | 48 hr | | ACTIVE | 15 % | 15 % | | MINOR | 05 % | 05 % | | SEVERE | 01 % | 01 % |
High latitudes | 24 hr | 48 hr | | ACTIVE | 15 % | 15 % | | MINOR | 05 % | 05 % | | SEVERE | 01 % | 01 % |
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| What's Up in Space -- 27 May 2001
Subscribe to Space Weather News! IMPACT! A faint full-halo coronal mass ejection [350 kb movie] billowed away from the Sun on Friday, May 25th at 05:50 UT and struck Earth's magnetosphere today at ~1500 UT. High-latitude observers in the southern hemisphere (where it is nearly winter and thus dark at night) should be alert for auroras after local nightfall. Stay tuned for additional details.  DOUBLE ASTEROID: Astronomers announced Thursday that near-Earth asteroid 1999 KW4 -- a space rock that passed 12.6 lunar distances from Earth on May 25th -- is a binary! Data from NASA's Goldstone Planetary Radar reveal "separations up to at least 2 km between the components, whose sizes differ by a factor of at least three." 1999 KW4 will brighten to 11th magnitude in the days ahead --an easy target for modest amateur telescopes equipped with CCD cameras-- as it zips through the constellations Aquila and Ophiuchus. [3D orbit] [ephemeris]
1999 KW4 is a rare asteroid that passes even closer to the Sun than Mercury does. It travels around our star once every 188 days following an elliptical orbit that stretches from 0.2 AU to 1.08 AU. Some scientists think 1999 KW4 might be the nucleus of an extinct comet. CRUMBLING COMET: Comet C/2000 A2 (LINEAR) is falling apart! The ESO's Very Large Telescope in Chile revealed on May 18th that the comet's icy core contained at least three "mini-comets" -- continuing a general disintegration that began in late April. This is a naked eye object for southern hemisphere sky watchers, but just barely. At visual magnitude 5.1, the comet is best viewed through binoculars [finder chart].  Right: Chris Picking captured this image of comet LINEAR's six degree-long tail on May 13th using a 35mm camera, 135mm lens, 10 minutes exposure, and Kodak Supra 400 film.
The comet's appearance is changing as volatile ices in the fragmenting nucleus are newly exposed to solar radiation. It will likely brighten even more as it approaches Earth between now and June 30th, when the comet will be just 0.23 AU from our planet. Meanwhile, it made its closest approach to the Sun (0.78 AU) on May 24th. See: [3D orbit][ephemeris] WEB LINKS: NOAA FORECAST | GLOSSARY | SPACE WEATHER TUTORIAL | LESSON PLANS | BECOME A SUBSCRIBER | 
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. [more]
On 27 May 2001 there were 309 known Potentially
Hazardous Asteroids May-June 2001 Earth-asteroid encounters | ASTEROID | DATE (UT) | MISS DISTANCE | | 2001 FE90 | 2001-May-06 23:37 | 49.7 LD | | 1999 KW4 | 2001-May-25 23:31 | 12.6 LD | | 2001 JV1 | 2001-Jun-06 07:53 | 18.0 LD | Note: LD is a "Lunar Distance." 1 LD = 384,401 km, the distance between Earth and the Moon 
- 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 |
