|   SPACE WEATHER
Current
Conditions
Solar Wind
velocity: 418.9 km/s
density:6.6 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2244 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: C2 2140 UT Mar23
24-hr: C5 2300 UT Mar22
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2245 UT
Daily Sun: 23 Mar '01 
A large sunspot is rotating into view on the Sun's east limb. It's too soon to say what sort of magnetic field it has and whether it will be a likely source of eruptions in the days ahead.
Sunspot Number: 129
More about sunspots
Updated: 22 Mar 2001
Radio Meteor Rate
24 hr max: 39 per hr
Listen to the Meteor Radar!
Updated: 23 Mar 2001 Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 8.2 nT
Bz: 7.4 nT north
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2246 UT Coronal Holes:
These two coronal holes are spewing streams of solar wind that our planet will likely encounter late Saturday and Sunday. 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 2001 Mar 23 2200 UT
| FLARE | 24 hr | 48 hr | | CLASS M | 60 % | 60 % | | 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 2001 Mar 23 2200 UT Mid-latitudes | 24 hr | 48 hr | | ACTIVE | 25 % | 20 % | | MINOR | 05 % | 05 % | | SEVERE | 01 % | 01 % |
High latitudes | 24 hr | 48 hr | | ACTIVE | 30 % | 25 % | | MINOR | 10 % | 10 % | | SEVERE | 05 % | 05 % |
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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. [more]
On 23 Mar 2001 there were 291 known Potentially
Hazardous Asteroids NEW DISCOVERY: On March 15, 2001, JPL's NEAT 1.2-meter asteroid survey telescope detected 2001 EC16, a ~100m-wide space rock heading for a close encounter with Earth. 2001 EC16 will pass approximately four and a half lunar distances from our planet on March 23rd. There's no danger of a collision, but the asteroid will be close enough for amateur astronomers to see through mid-sized telescopes (with CCD cameras) as it brightens to visual magnitude 14.7 in the days ahead. [3D orbit][ephemeris] Other upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters (Mar 1 - Apr 30) | Object | Date (UTC) | Miss Distance | | 2001 EC16 | 2001-Mar-23 16:00 | 0.0113 AU | | 1998 SF36 | 2001-Mar-29 18:37 | 0.0383 AU | | 1986 PA | 2001-Apr-03 01:06 | 0.1465 AU | | 2000 EE104 | 2001-Apr-12 20:37 | 0.0822 AU | 
- 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]
 Feb. 21, 2001: Nature's Tiniest Space Junk -- Using an experimental radar at the Marshall Space Flight Center, scientists are monitoring tiny but hazardous meteoroids that swarm around our planet. Feb. 15, 2001: The Sun Does a Flip -- NASA scientists who monitor the Sun say our star's enormous magnetic field is reversing -- a sure sign that solar maximum is here. Jan. 25, 2001: Earth's Invisible Magnetic Tail -- NASA's IMAGE spacecraft, the first to enjoy a global view of the magnetosphere, spotted a curious plasma tail pointing from Earth toward the Sun. 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. MORE SPACE WEATHER HEADLINES |
