SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids

SpaceWeather.com
Science news and information about the Sun-Earth environment.

SPACE WEATHER
Current
Conditions

Solar Wind
speed: 503.7 km/s
density: 6.9 protons/cm³
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 1047 UT

X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: C4 0935 UT Apr05
24-hr: M2 2015 UT Apr04
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 1045 UT

Daily Sun: 04 Apr '03
Sunspot 324 poses a declining threat for M-class solar flares. Image credit: SOHO/MDI

The Far Side of the Sun

This holographic image reveals no substantial sunspot groups on the far side of the Sun. Image credit: SOHO/MDI

Sunspot Number: 148
What is the sunspot number?
Updated: 04 Apr 2003

Coronal Holes:

Solar wind gusts from the indicated coronal hole could reach Earth as early as April 7th. Image credit: SOHO Extreme UV Telescope.
More about coronal holes

Interplanetary Mag. Field
B_total: 7.3 nT
B_z: 4.1 nT south
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 1047 UT

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 2003 Apr 04 2200 UTC

FLARE	0-24 hr	24-48 hr
CLASS M	45 %	35 %
CLASS X	10 %	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 2003 Apr 04 2200 UTC
Mid-latitudes

	0-24 hr	24-48 hr
ACTIVE	40 %	40 %
MINOR	20 %	15 %
SEVERE	10 %	05 %

High latitudes

	0-24 hr	24-48 hr
ACTIVE	55 %	45 %
MINOR	30 %	15 %
SEVERE	15 %	10 %

What's Up in Space -- 5 Apr 2003
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AURORA OUTLOOK: Geomagnetic activity reached mild storm levels on April 4th when a solar wind gust swept past Earth. Activity has subsided, but it could increase again as early as April 7th when our planet is expected to encounter a solar wind stream flowing from a coronal hole on the Sun.

Above: Roman Krochuk from the University of Alaska's Geophysical Institute captured this movie of Northern Lights dancing above Fairbanks on March 25th. In recent days, sky watchers have spotted auroras like these as far south as Michigan in the United States.

GRAB YOUR BINOCULARS: This week Jupiter is pleasingly close to the Beehive Cluster of stars. The pair are less than 1^o apart--about the width of your pinky finger held at arm's length. Jupiter is easy to find. It's the brightest "star" in the sky after sunset--nearly overhead if you're looking from the northern hemisphere. Train your binoculars on Jupiter and you'll see the Beehive glittering nearby. [sky maps: northern hemisphere, southern hemisphere]

Above: Chris Carrington of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, took this picture of the International Space Station (ISS) streaking past Jupiter and the Beehive Cluster (M44) on March 27th. The ISS entered Earth's shadow during the exposure--that's why the streak stops just below Jupiter. You can see the space station, too. Check Heavens Above for sighting times.

WEB LINKS: NOAA FORECAST | GLOSSARY | SPACE WEATHER TUTORIAL | BECOME A SUBSCRIBER | SpaceWeather PHONE

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 5 Apr 2003 there were 501 known Potentially
Hazardous Asteroids

April 2003 Earth-asteroid encounters

ASTEROID	DATE (UT)	MISS DISTANCE	MAG.
2003 FG	April 7	23 LD	15
2003 EF54	April 7	36 LD	22

Notes: 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.

LEONIDS 2002: The Leonids have come and gone, but our meteor gallery keeps growing. Check out the latest additions, which include a stunning image of 44 meteors emerging from the radiant in Leo.
DAWN PLANETS: Just before dawn on Sunday, Dec. 1st, the planets Venus and Mars converged and formed a lovely triangle with the slender crescent Moon. [gallery]
SUMMER AURORAS: August was a good month for auroras. Visit our gallery and see what happened in the skies of Europe and North America.
NEARBY ASTEROID: Asteroid 2002 NY40 came so close to Earth on August 18th that people could see it through binoculars or small telescopes. [gallery]
PERSEIDS 2002: Sky watchers spotted plenty of bright shooting stars--including some colorful earthgrazers--during the 2002 Perseid meteor shower. [gallery]
AURORA SURPRISE: An unexpected geomagnetic storm began on August 1st as night fell across North America. Sky watchers spotted vivid auroras over both the United States and Canada.
CRESCENT SUN: See strange shadows, weird sunsets, eclipse dogs, crescent-eyed turkeys and extraordinary rings of fire photographed during the June 10th solar eclipse. [gallery]

Essential Web Links

NOAA Space Environment Center -- The official U.S. government bureau for real-time monitoring of solar and geophysical events, research in solar-terrestrial physics, and forecasting solar and geophysical disturbances.

Solar and Heliospheric Observatory -- Realtime and archival images of the Sun from SOHO. (European Mirror Site)

Daily Sunspot Summaries -- from the NOAA Space Environment Center.

Current Solar Images --a gallery of up-to-date solar pictures from the National Solar Data Analysis Center at the Goddard Space Flight Center.

Recent Solar Events -- a nice summary of current solar conditions from lmsal.com.

SOHO Farside Images of the Sun from SWAN and MDI.

The Latest SOHO Coronagraph Images -- from the Naval Research Lab

The Sun from Earth -- daily images of our star from the Big Bear Solar Observatory

List of Potentially Hazardous Asteroids -- from the Harvard Minor Planet Center.

Observable Comets -- from the Harvard Minor Planet Center.

What is the Interplanetary Magnetic Field? -- A lucid answer from the University of Michigan. See also the Anatomy of Earth's Magnetosphere.

Real-time Solar Wind Data -- from NASA's ACE spacecraft. How powerful are solar wind gusts? Read this story from Science@NASA.

More Real-time Solar Wind Data -- from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory Proton Monitor.

Aurora Forecast --from the University of Alaska's Geophysical Institute

Daily Solar Flare and Sunspot Data -- from the NOAA Space Environment Center.

Lists of Coronal Mass Ejections -- from 1998 to 2001
What is an Iridium flare?

Vandenberg AFB missile launch schedule.

What is an Astronomical Unit, or AU?

Mirages: Mirages in Finland; An Introduction to Mirages;

NOAA Solar Flare and Sunspot Data: 1999; 2000; 2001; Jan-Mar., 2002; Apr-Jun., 2002; Jul-Sep., 2002; Oct-Dec., 2002;

Recent International Astronomical Union Circulars

Editor's Note: Space weather and other forecasts that appear on this site are formulated by Dr. Tony Phillips. They are not official statements of any government agency (including NASA) nor should they be construed as guarantees of space weather or other celestial activity.