SPACE WEATHER Current Conditions Solar Wind velocity: 363.5 km/s density:3.5 protons/cm3 explanation | more data Updated: Today at 2245 UT X-ray Solar Flares 6-hr max: M1 2145 UT Jan02 24-hr: M1 1250 UT Jan02 explanation | more data Updated: Today at 2245 UT Daily Sun: 02 Jan '02 Active region 9767 has a beta-gamma magnetic fields that poses a threat for M-class solar flares. 9767 unleashed an impressive X3-class flare on Dec. 28th. Image credit: SOHO/MDI The Far Side of the Sun This holographic image reveals a smattering of spots on the far side of the Sun. Image credit: SOHO/MDI Sunspot Number: 222 More about sunspots Updated: 01 Jan 2002 Radio Meteor Rate 24 hr max: 23 per hr Listen to the Meteor Radar! Updated: 01 Jan 2002 Interplanetary Mag. Field Btotal: 3.7 nT Bz: 0.2 nT south explanation | more data Updated: Today at 2246 UT Coronal Holes: The indicated coronal hole is not well positioned to send a solar wind stream directly toward Earth. Nevertheless, gusts could buffet our planet's magnetosphere between Jan. 2nd and 4th. 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 2002 Jan 02 2200 UT FLARE | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | CLASS M | 75 % | 75 % | CLASS X | 15 % | 15 % | Geomagnetic Storms: Probabilities for significant disturbances in Earth's magnetic field are given for three activity levels: active, minor storm, severe storm Updated at 2002 Jan 02 2200 UT Mid-latitudes | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | ACTIVE | 15 % | 15 % | MINOR | 05 % | 05 % | SEVERE | 01 % | 01 % | High latitudes | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | ACTIVE | 20 % | 20 % | MINOR | 10 % | 10 % | SEVERE | 01 % | 01 % | Web server provided by VPS Hosting | What's Up in Space -- 2 Jan 2002 Subscribe to Space Weather News! NEAR-EARTH ASTEROID: A newly-discovered near-Earth asteroid named 2001 YB5 will race past our planet this week only two times farther away than the Moon. During the days leading up to its closest approach on Jan. 7th, the 300 meter-wide space rock will brighten to 12th magnitude -- an easy target for backyard telescopes equipped with CCD cameras. [3D orbit] [ephemeris] METEOR SHOWER: The annual Quadrantid meteor shower peaks this year on January 3rd. For a few hours around 18:00 UT (during daylight hours in the Americas) shooting stars will stream out of the constellation Boötes in the northern sky. Pre-dawn observers in Japan and other Asian countries around the Pacific Rim will have the best view of the outburst. Early-evening sky watchers in Europe might see it, too. This year's display will be diminished by glare from the nearly-full Moon. Nevertheless, well-placed spotters will likely see a dozen or so bright meteors each hour during the shower's maximum. [more] NEW YEAR'S FIREWORKS: Says Canadian photographer Phil Hoffman: "The new year started off with natural fireworks here in the Yukon -- a modest aurora, pictured below, on Jan 1st." Photo details: Olympus 3040 digital camera, 13 sec. exposure at f/1.8 ISO 100. 1 a.m. PST, Jan. 1, 2002. Credit: Phil. Hoffman. SOLAR ACTIVITY: A beautiful coronal mass ejection, pictured right, billowed away from the Sun on New Year's Day. Unfortunately for hopeful aurora watchers, this was apparently a "backside" event; the expanding cloud is not heading for our planet. Meanwhile, on the Earth-facing side of the Sun, the large sunspot 9767 remains the greatest threat for a powerful eruption. Note: The bright object in the SOHO coronagraph animation (above) is not a UFO -- it's the planet Venus! SUBTLE ECLIPSE: "Unless you knew it was happening you wouldn't even notice," says sky watcher Stan Richard. Photographer Phil Harrington agreed: "The Moon's teaming with Jupiter was far more visually interesting than the eclipse." Such was Sunday morning's lunar eclipse, which happened on Dec. 30th when the Moon glided through the outskirts of Earth's shadow. Visit our photo gallery and see for yourself! NEW YEAR, GIANT PLANET: Earth and Jupiter drew as close as possible to one another (4.19 AU) on January 1st, 2002 -- an event astronomers call "opposition." The giant planet is now the brightest "star" in the night sky. It rises in the east just after sunset and, for northern-hemisphere observers, appears almost directly overhead at midnight. Dr. Clay Sherrod captured this beautiful image of Jupiter on Jan. 1st using a telescope at the Arkansas Sky Observatory. [larger image] [Jupiter finder chart] 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. On 2 Jan 2002 there were 360 known Potentially Hazardous Asteroids Jan. 2002 Earth-asteroid encountersNotes: 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. - MOON & SATURN: The Moon keeps getting in the way of Saturn! See the series of close encounters here.
- CHRISTMAS LIGHTS: On Christmas Eve, 2001, a solar wind stream triggered Northern Lights. [gallery]
- SOLAR ECLIPSE: Sky watchers in Hawaii and most parts of North America experienced a partial solar eclipse on Dec. 14th. [gallery]
- BRIGHT ASTEROID: Videos and images of 1998 WT24 -- a big and bright near-Earth asteroid that came close to our planet on Dec. 16, 2001. [gallery]
- NORTHERN LIGHTS: On Nov. 24th a pair of coronal mass ejections swept past Earth and triggered worldwide auroras.
- LEONIDS 2001: Some people saw it. Others heard it. In either case, they'll never forget it: The 2001 Leonid meteor storm.
- PERSEIDS 2001: Perseid watchers on August 12th spotted meteors, auroras, and a disintegrating Russian rocket! [gallery]
- MORNING PLANETS: In July and Aug. 2001, the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, and Mercury put on a dazzling early-morning sky show. [gallery]
- ECLIPSE SAFARI: Onlookers cried out in delight on June 21, 2001, when the Moon covered the African Sun, revealing the dazzling corona. [gallery]
- 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]
Nov. 7 , 2001: What Lies beneath a Sunspot -- Awesome plasma hurricanes were one of the surprises revealed when scientists peered beneath the stormy surface of our star. Oct. 26 , 2001: 'tis the Season for Auroras -- Autumn is a good time to spot Northern Lights. Oct. 17, 2001: Halley's Comet Returns ... in bits and pieces -- The annual Orionid meteor shower peaks on October 21st. Aug. 9, 2001: Horse Flies and Meteors -- Like bugs streaking down the side window of a moving car, long and colorful Perseid Earthgrazers could put on a remarkable show on August 11th. July 27, 2001: Meteorites Don't Pop Corn -- A fireball that dazzled Americans on July 23rd probably didn't scorch any cornfields, contrary to widespread reports. June 12, 2001: The Biggest Explosions in the Solar System -- NASA's HESSI spacecraft aims to unravel an explosive mystery: the origin of solar flares. |