SPACE WEATHER
Current
Conditions

Solar Wind

speed: 429.6 km/s
density:
4.2 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 0947 UT

X-ray Solar Flares

6-hr max:
B3 0620 UT May30
24-hr: B5 0035 UT May30
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 0945 UT

Daily Sun: 29 May '04
Sunspot 618 has a beta-gamma magnetic field that harbors energy for M-class solar flares. Image credit: SOHO/MDI

The Far Side of the Sun

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


Sunspot Number: 57
What is the sunspot number?
Updated: 29 May 2004

Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 8.3 nT
Bz:
0.4 nT north
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 0947 UT

Coronal Holes:

A solar wind stream from the indicated coronal hole will buffet Earth's magnetic field beginning approximately May 31st. Image credit: SOHO Extreme UV Imager


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 2004 May 29 2200 UTC
FLARE 0-24 hr 24-48 hr
CLASS M 40 % 40 %
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 2004 May 29 2200 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr 24-48 hr
ACTIVE 15 % 25 %
MINOR 05 % 15 %
SEVERE 01 % 05 %

High latitudes
0-24 hr 24-48 hr
ACTIVE 30 % 30 %
MINOR 20 % 25 %
SEVERE 05 % 10 %

What's Up in Space -- 30 May 2004
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VENUS TRANSIT: The coming solar transit of Venus, on June 8, 2004, will be one of the best-publicized events in the history of astronomy. Yet the sight of Venus' disk crawling across the Sun might strike some as dull. Why should you watch? Get the full story from Science@NASA.

SKINNY PLANET: Less than two weeks before its historic transit of the Sun, Venus is still visible in the evening sky--barely. The planet remains bright, but it's getting low. Look for it just above the western horizon at sunset.

Like the Moon, Venus has phases; at the moment it's a skinny crescent, easily seen through backyard telescopes. In Hong Kong, amateur astronomer Wah! took this picture of Venus on May 26th:

more images: from Peter Lawrence of Selsey, UK (May 27); from Richard Bosman of Enschede, Holland (May 27).

AURORA WATCH: A solar wind stream flowing from a coronal hole could hit Earth's magnetic field on May 31st. High-latitude sky watchers, e.g., people in Canada and northern US states like Minnesota, should be alert for auroras.

LOW RAINBOW: Sky watcher Mila Zinkova was looking out over the Indian Ocean near Madagascar on May 20th when she spotted a curiously low-hanging rainbow. "I've never seen one like this before," she said, and took its picture: (continued below)

Atmospheric optics expert Les Cowley explains: "The top of this rainbow is almost level with the horizon because the sun was high in the sky. Rainbows are always centered on the point directly opposite the sun. As the sun climbs the top of the rainbow sinks. When the sun is 42º high (the bow's radius) the top of the rainbow is level with the horizon. But, as here, bows can be visible below the horizon; all that's needed are sunlit water drops from rain, spray or even a lawn sprinkler! "



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 30 May 2004 there were 603 known Potentially
Hazardous Asteroids
May-July 2004 Earth-asteroid encounters
ASTEROID

 DATE (UT)

 MISS DISTANCE

 MAG.
2001 US16

May 8

11 LD

 15
2004 HC39

May 12

13 LD

 17
2004 FJ11

May 24

12 LD

 18
1998 SF36

June 26

5 LD

 13
1999 MN

July 14

7 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.

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.

Atmospheric Optics -- the first place to look for information about sundogs, pillars, rainbows and related phenomena. See also Snow Crystals.

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. See also the GOES-12 Soft X-ray Imager.

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? See also Photographing Satellites by Brian Webb.

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; 2003; Jan-Mar., 2004;

Space Audio Streams: (University of Florida) 20 MHz radio emissions from Jupiter: #1, #2, #3, #4; (NASA/Marshall) INSPIRE: #1; (Stan Nelson of Roswell, New Mexico) meteor radar: #1, #2;

Recent International Astronomical Union Circulars

GLOSSARY | SPACE WEATHER TUTORIAL

Editor's Note: This site is sponsored by Science@NASA. Space weather and other forecasts that appear here are formulated by Dr. Tony Phillips. They are not guarantees of space weather or other celestial activity.
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