SPACE WEATHER Current Conditions Solar Wind velocity: 356.4 km/s density:2.0 protons/cm3 explanation | more data Updated: Today at 2231 UT X-ray Solar Flares 6-hr max: C1 2105 UT Jan14 24-hr: C6 0250 UT Jan14 explanation | more data Updated: Today at 2245 UT Daily Sun: 14 Jan '01 Sunspot group 9306 continues to grow, and it exhibits a complex beta-gamma magnetic field that likely harbors energy for M-class solar flares. Nevertheless, the active region remains remarkably quiet. Sunspot Number: 146 More about sunspots Updated: 13 Jan 2001 Radio Meteor Rate 24 hr max: 35 per hr Listen to the Meteor Radar! Updated: 14 Jan 2001 Interplanetary Mag. Field Btotal: 6.2 nT Bz: 1.6 nT south explanation | more data Updated: Today at 2234 UT Coronal Holes: There are no substantial coronal holes visible in this SOHO extreme ultraviolet image of the Sun. Image credit: SOHO Extreme Ultraviolet 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 Jan 14 2200 UT FLARE | 24 hr | 48 hr | CLASS M | 40 % | 50 % | CLASS X | 05 % | 05 % | 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 Jan 14 2200 UT Mid-latitudes | 24 hr | 48 hr | ACTIVE | 20 % | 20 % | MINOR | 05 % | 05 % | SEVERE | 01 % | 01 % | High latitudes | 24 hr | 48 hr | ACTIVE | 25 % | 25 % | MINOR | 10 % | 10 % | SEVERE | 01 % | 01 % | | What's Up in Space -- 14 Jan 2001 Subscribe to Space Weather News! STARDUST FLYBY: NASA's Stardust spacecraft will slingshot past Earth on Monday morning January 15th for a gravity assist that will send it hurtling toward Comet P/Wild 2. At closest approach, around 11:15 UT, the spacecraft will be barely 6000 km above our planet's surface. Amateur astronomers with mid-sized telescopes might be able to spot Stardust if it brightens, as some observers anticipate, to 10th magnitude or better. Observers around the Pacific Rim, in Hawaii and perhaps western North America are favored for the best view. [observing tips][ephemeris] WEAK IMPACT: An interplanetary shock wave hit Earth's magnetosphere Saturday morning at ~0130 UT. Although conditions at the time were favorable for aurora (namely, the interplanetary magnetic field near Earth was pointing south) geomagnetic activity remained low. The disturbance was the leading edge of a full-halo coronal mass ejection that billowed away from the Sun on January 10th after a C5-class solar flare erupted above sunspot group 9306. LUNAR ECLIPSE PHOTOS: On Tuesday, January 9th, the full Moon glided through Earth's copper-colored shadow for an hour-long total eclipse. Visit our lunar eclipse gallery to view photos of the event. More: A Science@NASA story considers Tuesday's eclipse from a different point of view. WEB LINKS: NOAA FORECAST | GLOSSARY | SPACE WEATHER TUTORIAL | LESSON PLANS | MORE NEWS | BECOME A SUBSCRIBER | | NEAR-EARTH ASTEROIDS: MIT's LINEAR asteroid search program spotted another Potentially Hazardous Asteroid on January 2nd: 2001 AD2. The 400m-wide space rock is notable because its low-inclination orbit can bring it close to four planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. 2001 AD2's most recent close encounter was with Venus on Oct. 23, 1999, when the asteroid was ~0.01 AU from that planet. It will fly by Earth on Dec. 25, 2001, at a distance of 0.09 AU. If the asteroid's orbit remains substantially unchanged, 2001 AD2 will never come closer to our planet than 3.5 lunar distances. | 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. Dec. 18, 2000: Ursid Meteor Surprise -- The normally meek Ursid meteor shower could surprise sky watchers with a powerful outburst on Dec 22nd. Dec. 8, 2000: The Baffling Geminid Meteor Shower -- Most meteor showers are caused by comets, but the Geminids, which peak on December 13th, seem to come from a curious near-Earth asteroid. Nov. 22, 2000: A Solar Flare Stuns Stardust -- Earlier this month an intense solar radiation storm temporarily blinded NASA's Stardust spacecraft en route to comet Wild-2. Nov. 21, 2000: Leonids Galore -- Find out what happened during the 2000 Leonids meteor shower. Nov. 7, 2000: Much Ado about 2000 SG344 -- In 2071 a relic of NASA's earliest space exploration efforts might return to Earth, if current estimates are confirmed. Oct. 26, 2000: Lunar Leonids -- On Nov. 17, 2000, the moon will plow through a stream of debris from comet Tempel-Tuttle. Oct. 10, 2000: The Moonlit Leonids 2000 -- Our planet is heading for a minefield of cosmic dust streams laid down by periodic comet Tempel-Tuttle. The result could be a series of meteor outbursts on Nov. 17 and 18, 2000. MORE SPACE WEATHER HEADLINES |