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SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids
SPACE WEATHER
Current conditions
Solar wind
speed: 478.4 km/sec
density: 4.2 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2335 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: A6
1745 UT Jun15
24-hr: A7
1310 UT Jun15
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2340 UT
Daily Sun: 15 Jun 10
As sunspot 1081 disappears over the western limb, a new active region (circled) is emerging in the east. Credit: SOHO/MDI
Sunspot number: 12
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 13 Jun 2010

Spotless Days
Current Stretch: 0 days
2010 total: 33 days (20%)
2009 total: 260 days (71%)
Since 2004: 801 days
Typical Solar Min: 486 days
explanation | more info
Updated 13 Jun 2010


The Radio Sun
10.7 cm flux: 76 sfu
explanation | more data
Updated 13 Jun 2010

Current Auroral Oval:
Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/POES
Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 3 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 3
quiet
explanation | more data
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 7.3 nT
Bz: 1.3 nT south
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2346 UT
Coronal Holes:
A solar wind stream flowing from the indicated coronal hole is expected to hit Earth on June 16th or 17th. Credit: SDO/AIA
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts
Updated at: 2010 Jun 15 2201 UTC
FLARE
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
CLASS M
01 %
01 %
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: 2010 Jun 15 2201 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
50 %
40 %
MINOR
20 %
10 %
SEVERE
05 %
01 %
High latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
60 %
50 %
MINOR
20 %
15 %
SEVERE
05 %
01 %
What's up in Space
June 15, 2010

NEW AND IMPROVED: Turn your iPhone or iPod Touch into a field-tested global satellite tracker. The Satellite Flybys app now works in all countries.

 

SUNSET SKY SHOW: For the second night in a row, Venus and the crescent Moon are in conjunction. Look west at the end of the day for a pair of heavenly lights beaming through the sunset. [sky map]

DEPARTING SUNSPOT: Sunspot 1081, the source of several picturesque solar flares over the weekend, is exiting stage right. The active region is rotating over the sun's western limb where it will soon be completely invisible from Earth. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this parting shot:

The active region's dramatic profile is highlighted by loops of unstable magnetism filled with surging, hot solar plasma. Black space beyond the edge of the sun provides a velvety backdrop for what could be some lively action in the hours ahead. Readers with solar telescopes, catch it before it goes!

more images: from Robert Arnold of Isle of Skye, Scotland; from P-M Hedén of Vallentuna, Sweden; from Stephen Ames of Hodgenville, KY; from Gianfranco Meregalli of Milano Italy;

AURORAS AT THE SOUTH POLE: On June 10th, a solar wind gust hit Earth's magnetic field, causing the skies over Antarctica to turn green. Research scientist J. Dana Hrubes snapped this picture of a backlit weather station at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station:

The temperature reading? "-90 degrees F," says Hrubes. "It was cold," he allows, "but the skies were crystal clear and the auroras were very bright. It was a great time to be outside."

June 16th or 17th could be another great time. That's when a solar wind stream is due to hit Earth, possibly sparking a new round of high-latitude geomagnetic storms. Stay tuned for more scenes from the South Pole.

May 2010 Aurora Gallery
[previous Mays: 2008, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002] [aurora alerts]

 
       
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 June 15, 2010 there were 1133 potentially hazardous asteroids.
May 2010 Earth-asteroid encounters:
Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Mag.
Size
2010 JR34
May 14
5.8 LD
21
12 m
2003 HR32
May 17
55.2 LD
17
1.0 km
2010 JN71
May 26
8.2 LD
18
245 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 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 and Heliospheric Observatory
  Realtime and archival images of the Sun from SOHO.
STEREO
  3D views of the sun from NASA's Solar and Terrestrial Relations Observatory
Daily Sunspot Summaries
  from the NOAA Space Environment Center
Current Solar Images
  from the National Solar Data Analysis Center
Science Central
   
  more links...
   
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