SPACE WEATHER
Current
Conditions

Solar Wind
speed: 312.3 km/s
density:
1.0 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 1046 UT


X-ray Solar Flares

6-hr max:
B6 0935 UT Nov16
24-hr: B6 0935 UT Nov16
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 1045 UT

Daily Sun: 16 Nov '05

Sunspot 822 poses a threat for M-class solar flares. Credit: SOHO/MDI


Sunspot Number: 32
What is the sunspot number?
Updated: 15 Nov 2005

Far Side of the Sun

This holographic image reveals no sunspots on the far side of the sun. Image credit: SOHO/MDI

Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 5.8 nT
Bz:
1.9 nT south
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 1047 UT

Coronal Holes:

There are no large coronal holes on the Earth-facing side of the sun today. Image credit: SOHO Extreme UV Telescope.


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 2005 Nov 15 2204 UTC
FLARE 0-24 hr 24-48 hr
CLASS M 50 % 50 %
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 2005 Nov 15 2204 UTC
Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr 24-48 hr
ACTIVE 20 % 20 %
MINOR 10 % 10 %
SEVERE 05 % 05 %

High latitudes
0-24 hr 24-48 hr
ACTIVE 30 % 25 %
MINOR 25 % 15 %
SEVERE 10 % 05 %

What's Up in Space -- 16 Nov 2005
Subscribe to Space Weather News

Did you miss the aurora storms of Sept.? Next time get a wake-up call: Sign up for SpaceWeather PHONE.

TAURID FIREBALLS: The American Meteor Society continues to receive reports of Taurid fireballs. These bright meteors, which shoot out of the constellation Taurus, are caused by a swarm of pebble-sized meteoroids currently in the vicinity of Earth. So if you're outside tonight, keep an eye on the sky: full story.

BIG SUNSPOT: Sunspot 822 is enormous. From end to end it stretches some 140,000 km, about the diameter of Jupiter. Yesterday, Mila Zinkova of San Francisco photographed the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean. Among the sea gulls is sunspot 822; it's the one without the wings:

Sunspot 822 is crackling with M-class solar flares. So far the explosions have not affected Earth, but this could change in the days ahead. The sunspot is turning to face our planet, increasing the chances of an Earth-directed eruption. Stay tuned.

MOON CORONA: If you've been watching this week's full Moon, you might have noticed something extra: a lunar corona. Madeleine Watkins of Stevenage, Hertfordshire, UK, photographed this one on Nov. 14th:

The soft colors surrounding the moon are produced by tiny droplets of water in clouds. Droplets intercept rays of moonlight and, via a process called diffraction, create the luminous rings. Watch for lunar coronas this week anytime the moon and clouds appear together in the night sky.

more images: from Simon Parrett of York, North Yorkshire, England; from Tony Hoffman of Queens, New York; from Barb Robertson of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada;



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 16 Nov 2005 there were 736 known Potentially
Hazardous Asteroids
August 2005 Earth-asteroid encounters
ASTEROID

 DATE (UT)

 MISS DISTANCE

 MAG.
1992 UY4

August 8

16 LD

 12
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 Solar 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

Lists of Coronal Mass Ejections -- from 1998 to 2001

Mirages: Mirages in Finland; An Introduction to Mirages;

NOAA Solar Flare and Sunspot Data: 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999; 2000; 2001; 2002; 2003; 2004; Jan-Mar 2005; Apr-Jun 2005; Jul-Sep 2005; Oct-Dec 2005;

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

This site is penned daily by Dr. Tony Phillips: email
You are visitor number 33578575 since January 2000.
View archives: