|   SPACE WEATHER
Current
Conditions
Solar Wind
velocity: 378.2 km/s
density:3.0 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2244 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: C2 2100 UT Jan07
24-hr: C3 1420 UT Jan07
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2245 UT
Daily Sun: 07 Jan '02 
Active region 9767 has a beta-gamma magnetic field that poses a threat for M-class solar flares. Image credit: SOHO/MDI
The Far Side of the Sun
This holographic image reveals a substantial sunspot group on the far side of the Sun. Image credit: SOHO/MDI
Sunspot Number: 143
More about sunspots
Updated: 06 Jan 2002
Radio Meteor Rate
24 hr max: 14 per hr
Listen to the Meteor Radar!
Updated: 07 Jan 2002 Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 10.8 nT
Bz: 0.5 nT north
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2246 UT Coronal Holes:
An impressive coronal hole is crossing the Sun's central meridian. Solar wind gusts flowing from the hole could buffet Earth's magnetosphere late this week. 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 07 2200 UT
| FLARE | 0-24 hr | 24-48 hr | | CLASS M | 55 % | 55 % | | CLASS X | 10 % | 10 % |
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 07 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 % |
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VPS Hosting | What's Up in Space -- 7 Jan 2002
Subscribe to Space Weather News!  ASTEROID FLYBY: Near-Earth asteroid 2001 YB5 raced past Earth today only two times farther away than the Moon. Just before the close encounter, the 300 meter-wide space rock brightened to 12th magnitude (an easy target for backyard telescopes), but now it is fading rapidly. The asteroid's orbit has carried it between our planet and the Sun and, so, the space rock's night side is facing Earth. [3D orbit] [ephemeris] [movies]
HOT COMET: Periodic comet 96P/Machholz is heating up. Every 5.24 years the comet swings perilously close to the Sun, and this week is one of those times. The comet is growing a long bright tail as it plunges toward our star.  Unfortunately, 96P/Machholz is too close to the Sun for humans to see, but coronagraphs on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) will be able to observe the encounter. The comet, pictured right, appeared yesterday within SOHO's field of view and will remain so for the next few days.
Unlike many Sun-approaching comets, notably the "Kreutz sungrazers," 96P/Machholz is expected to survive its fiery encounter. Perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) will take place on Jan. 8, 2002, at a distance of 0.12 AU. More information: [See the comet now] [SOHO also saw the comet in Oct. 1996] [3D orbit] [sungrazer.org] SOLAR BLAST: A solar filament erupted near active region 9773 on Jan. 4th and hurled an unusually beautiful coronal mass ejection (CME) into space. "The complexity and structure of the CME amazed even experienced solar physicists at the SOHO operations center," says Paal Brekke, the SOHO Deputy Project Scientist. [movies] SUN PILLAR: "My wife came into the house [on Jan. 5th]," says Tom Martinez of Cleveland, Missouri, "and told me that a beam of light was shooting straight up from the setting Sun. I grabbed my Nikon Coolpix, ran outside, and snapped this picture." It was a beautiful Sun pillar (pictured below), caused by sunlight reflecting from flat, stop-sign shaped ice crystals. [more]  METEOR MOVIE: The annual Quadrantid meteor shower peaked on Thursday, January 3rd -- a night when the glaring Moon overwhelmed all but the brightest meteors. Most sky watchers saw fewer than a dozen shooting stars per hour. In fact, listening to the shower via radio was, perhaps, more satisfying this year. Nevertheless, some sky watchers persisted -- and were rewarded. On Jan. 5th, with the Moon's light subsiding, Wojtek Welnowski captured this movie of a late-arriving Quadrantid. 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 7 Jan 2002 there were 361 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. 
- SUBTLE ECLIPSE: The Moon dipped into the outskirts of Earth's shadow on Dec. 30, 2001. [gallery]
- 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. |
