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SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids
 
Solar wind
speed: 462.8 km/sec
density: 4.4 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2346 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: C1
2119 UT Dec03
24-hr: C1
1123 UT Dec03
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2300 UT
Daily Sun: 03 Dec 11
New sunspot 1365 is growing rapidly. Credit: SDO/HMI
Sunspot number: 106
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 02 Dec 2011

Spotless Days
Current Stretch: 0 days
2011 total: 2 days (<1%)
2010 total: 51 days (14%)
2009 total: 260 days (71%)
Since 2004: 821 days
Typical Solar Min: 486 days

Updated 02 Dec 2011


The Radio Sun
10.7 cm flux: 157 sfu
explanation | more data
Updated 02 Dec 2011

Current Auroral Oval:
Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/POES
Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 2 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 3
quiet
explanation | more data
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 6.1 nT
Bz: 1.9 nT south
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2347 UT
Coronal Holes: 03 Dec 11
Earth is inside a minor solar wind stream flowing from the indicated coronal hole. Credit: SDO/AIA.
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts
Updated at: 2011 Dec 03 2200 UTC
FLARE
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
CLASS M
30 %
30 %
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: 2011 Dec 03 2200 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
01 %
01 %
MINOR
00 %
00 %
SEVERE
00 %
00 %
High latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
13 %
13 %
MINOR
08 %
07 %
SEVERE
02 %
01 %
 
Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011
What's up in space
 

Turn your cell phone into a field-tested satellite tracker. Works for Android and iPhone.

 
Satellite flybys

ERUPTING FILAMENT: Today, with little warning, a magnetic filament rapidly erupted on the sun. Between 10:30 and 11:30 UT, observers in Europe watched tendrils of hot plasma rocket away from the sun's NW limb. Debris from the explosion is not expected to hit Earth. Images: #1, #2, #3.

SUPER-SIZED ECLIPSE: On Saturday morning, Dec. 10th, sky watchers in the western United States and Canada will witness a total lunar eclipse swollen to super-sized proportions by the Moon illusion. Get the full story from Science@NASA.

NORTHERN LIGHTS: Auroras are flickering around the Arctic Circle in response to a minor solar wind stream, which is buffeting Earth's magnetic field. Ronn Murray sends this Dec. 3rd snapshot from Murphy Dome in Fairbanks, Alaska:

"I photographed my friend Marketa enjoying the view during a very beautful spell of auroras," says Murray.

The lights were caused not by a strong magnetic storm but rather by small magnetic fluctuations in the solar wind. During the early hours of Dec. 3rd, the IMF tipped south, partially cancelling Earth's north-pointing magnetic field; solar wind poured through the breach to fuel the display. NOAA forecasters estimate a 14% chance of similar events tonight. Aurora alerts: text, phone.

more images: from Casey Thompson of Fairbanks, AK

LOCAL STARSCAPE: With no flares of significance in days, the sun is strangely quiet. Nevertheless, the view remains dynamic. Rogerio Marcon of Campinas, Brasil, took this picture of the local starscape on Dec. 2nd:

Using a telescope tuned to the red glow of solar hydrogen, Marco captured 20 billion sq. km of seething plasma and magnetic filaments; also included in the field is the dark core of sunspot 1364 (lower right). It doesn't look very quiet. NOAA forecasters estimate a 30% chance of M-class solar flares in the next 24 hours. Solar flare alerts: text, phone.

  Near Earth Asteroids
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 is on a collision course with our planet, although astronomers are finding new ones all the time.
On December 3, 2011 there were 1272 potentially hazardous asteroids.
Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Mag.
Size
2011 WV74
Dec 2
2.3 LD
--
13 m
2011 WU74
Dec 4
4.2 LD
--
24 m
2003 XV
Dec 7
1.1 LD
--
20 m
2003 WM7
Dec 9
47.6 LD
--
1.6 km
2000 YA
Dec 26
2.9 LD
--
80 m
2011 SL102
Dec 28
75.9 LD
--
1.0 km
1991 VK
Jan 25
25.3 LD
--
1.9 km
433 Eros
Jan 31
69.5 LD
--
8.5 km
2009 AV
Feb 16
44.9 LD
--
1.2 km
2000 ET70
Feb 19
17.7 LD
--
1.0 km
2011 CP4
Feb 23
9.1 LD
--
255 m
Notes: LD means "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 Weather Prediction Center
  The official U.S. government space weather bureau
Atmospheric Optics
  The first place to look for information about sundogs, pillars, rainbows and related phenomena.
Solar Dynamics Observatory
  Researchers call it a "Hubble for the sun." SDO is the most advanced solar observatory ever.
STEREO
  3D views of the sun from NASA's Solar and Terrestrial Relations Observatory
Solar and Heliospheric Observatory
  Realtime and archival images of the Sun from SOHO.
Daily Sunspot Summaries
  from the NOAA Space Environment Center
Heliophysics
  the underlying science of space weather
Science Central
Trade Show Displays
   
  more links...
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