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SPACE WEATHER
Current conditions

Solar wind
speed: 496.5 km/sec
density: 1.3 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2244 UT

X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: B2 2220 UT Dec14
24-hr: C1 0830 UT Dec14
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 2245 UT

Daily Sun: 14 Dec 07

Sunspot 978 has developed a beta-gamma magnetic field that harbors energy for M-class solar flares. Credit: SOHO/MDI

Sunspot number: 39
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 13 Dec 2007

Far side of the Sun:

This holographic image shows no large sunspots on the farside of the sun. Image credit: SOHO/MDI

Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 1 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 2 quiet
explanation | more data

Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/POES
Updated: 2007 Dec 14 2141 UT
What is the auroral oval?

Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 2.7 nT
Bz: 0.2 nT north
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 2245 UT

Coronal Holes:

A solar wind stream flowing from the indicated coronal hole should reach Earth on or about Dec. 17th. Credit: Hinode X-ray Telescope

SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts

Updated at: 2007 Dec 14 2203 UTC

FLARE

0-24 hr

24-48 hr

CLASS M

05 %

05 %

CLASS X

01 %

01 %

Geomagnetic Storms:
Probabilities for significant disturbances in Earth's magnetic field are given for three activity levels: active, minor storm, severe storm

Updated at: 2007 Dec 14 2203 UTC

Mid-latitudes

0-24 hr

24-48 hr

ACTIVE

10 %

15 %

MINOR

05 %

10 %

SEVERE

01 %

01 %

High latitudes

0-24 hr

24-48 hr

ACTIVE

10 %

20 %

MINOR

05 %

15 %

SEVERE

01 %

05 %

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What's up in Space

December 14, 2007

Where's Saturn? Is that a UFO--or the ISS? What's the name of that star? Get the answers from mySKY--a fun new astronomy helper from Meade.
SUN BUZZ: The solar physics community is abuzz this week. No, there haven't been any great eruptions or solar storms. The source of the excitement is a modest knot of magnetism that popped up on the sun, possibly heralding the start of a new solar cycle: full story.
GEMINID UPDATE: This morning's Geminid meteor shower is receiving mixed reviews. "I was out last night near Louisburg, Kansas, and counted more than 70 Geminids in just an hour and a half. Five of the meteors I saw left smoke trails that lasted a few seconds," reports Carolyn Karns. "It was the best meteor shower I've seen all year," agrees Ron Wayman who counted dozens of meteors through the city lights of his hometown Tampa, Florida.
But in San Francisco, Mila Zinkova says "No, I would not call this shower the best of the year." She saw no more than ten Geminids per hour, well below expected peak rates. Other reports from around the world agree: the display was "patchy" producing many Geminids in some places and few in others. Sometimes, however, one is enough:

Lorenzo Comolli captured this fireball streaking over Tradate, Italy, using a Canon 350D digital camera. Stay tuned for more pictures.
LISTEN! In New Mexico, amateur radio astronomer Thomas Ashcraft recorded a radio echo from the ionized trail of a Geminid fireball as the bright meteor flew over his observatory. Turn up the volume and click here. [more]
CRACKLING SUNSPOT: Giant sunspot 978 is crackling with C-class solar flares, unleashing five in the past 24 hours alone. Yesterday, in the hills overlooking Los Angeles, California, Gary Palmer caught the spot in mid-eruption:

11 MB IMAX-style Movie
Using his Coronado SolarMax90, Palmer recorded an entire movie of the eruption--"IMAX-style," he says. Caution: The seething, pulsating surface of the sun might spill over the edge of your computer screen. Click here if you dare.
more images: from the SOHO spacecraft 1.5 million km from Earth; from Monty Leventhal of Sydney, Australia; from Alcaria Rego of Almada - Portugal; from Paul Haese of Blackwood, South Australia; from GÃ¼nter Kleinschuster of Feldbach, Austria

Comet 17P/Holmes Photo Gallery
[Interactive World Map of Comet Photos]
[sky map] [ephemeris] [3D orbit] [Night Sky Cameras]

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| Near-Earth Asteroids |

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 is on a collision course with our planet, although astronomers are finding new ones all the time.

On December 14, 2007 there were 911 potentially hazardous asteroids.

Dec-Jan Earth-asteroid encounters:

Asteroid

Date(UT)

Miss Distance

Mag.

Size

2007 XZ9

Dec. 1

8.1 LD

18

45 m

2007 VD184

Dec. 9

7.8 LD

18

95 m

3200 Phaethon

Dec. 10

47 LD

14

5 km

2007 TU24

Jan. 29

1.4 LD

19

405 m

Notes: LD means "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.

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| Essential Links |

| NOAA Space Weather Prediction 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.

| Solar and Heliospheric Observatory

| Realtime and archival images of the Sun from SOHO.

| Daily Sunspot Summaries

| From the NOAA Space Environment Center

| Current Solar Images

| from the National Solar Data Analysis Center

| more links...

Cool links:

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©2007, SpaceWeather.com -- This site is penned daily by Dr. Tony Phillips.