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

SPACE WEATHER
Current
Conditions

Solar Wind
speed: 713.3 km/s
density: 1.8 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 0946 UT

X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: C3 0710 UT May07
24-hr: C3 0710 UT May07
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 0945 UT

Daily Sun: 06 May '03
Sunspots 348 and 349 have "beta-gamma" magnetic fields that pose a threat for M-class solar flares. Image credit: SOHO/MDI

The Far Side of the Sun

This holographic image reveals a smattering of small sunspots on the far side of the Sun. Image credit: SOHO/MDI

Sunspot Number: 117
What is the sunspot number?
Updated: 06 May 2003

Coronal Holes:

Earth is inside a solar wind stream flowing from the indicated coronal hole. Image credit: SOHO Extreme UV Telescope.
More about coronal holes

Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 8.4 nT
Bz: 2.1 nT south
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 0947 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 May 06 2200 UTC
FLARE 0-24 hr 24-48 hr
CLASS M 60 % 50 %
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 May 06 2200 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr 24-48 hr
ACTIVE 40 % 30 %
MINOR 20 % 15 %
SEVERE 05 % 05 %

High latitudes
0-24 hr 24-48 hr
ACTIVE 50 % 40 %
MINOR 30 % 20 %
SEVERE 10 % 10 %

What's Up in Space -- 7 May 2003
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MERCURY TRANSIT: It's begun: Mercury is now crossing the face of the Sun. Sky watchers in Europe, Asia and Africa using properly shielded telescopes can see the planet's tiny silhouette moving among the sunspots. The transit ends at 1027 UT (6:27 am EDT) on May 7th. [more]


Animation courtesy Frank Reddy. Copyright 2003.

AURORA OUTLOOK: Earth is inside a solar wind stream flowing from a coronal hole on the Sun. Sky watchers should be alert for auroras after local sunset tonight. The best observing sites will be at high latitudes: e.g., the southern regions of New Zealand and Australia, northern Europe, Canada, and northern US states like Wisconsin and Michigan.

Would you like us to call you when auroras appear over your hometown? Sign up for SpaceWeather PHONE.

METEOR SHOWER: The 2003 eta Aquarid meteor shower was a dud--or nearly so. "During the two hours I spent taking pictures before dawn on May 6th, I saw only 15," says Frankie Lucena of Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico. One of them is pictured below, a faint shooting star streaking across the Milky Way.

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 7 May 2003 there were 509 known Potentially
Hazardous Asteroids

May 2003 Earth-asteroid encounters
ASTEROID

 DATE (UT)

 MISS DISTANCE

 MAG.
6489 Golevka

 May 20

36 LD

 16
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; 2002; Jan-Mar., 2003; Apr-Jun., 2003;

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.

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Copyright 1998-2003 Dr. Tony Phillips
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