SOLAR WIND UPDATE: The chances a geomagnetic storm today are subsiding as the solar wind slows from a peak velocity near 800 km/s on June 2-3. Even so, high-latitude sky watchers should remain alert for auroras. The current solar wind speed, 600 km/s, is still elevated and capable of provoking polar magnetic disturbances. Aurora alerts: text, voice.
AURORAS IN THE USA: On June 1, Northern Lights spilled across the Canadian border into more than a dozen US states, turning the sky purple and green as far south as Colorado and Nebraska. Subscribers to the Space Weather Alert System (text, voice) knew the storm was coming, but others were surprised:
"Last night, I drove to Crater Lake National Park to photograph the Milky Way rising above the rim," reports Oregon photographer Brad Goldpaint. "I was staring upward towards a clear night sky when suddenly, without much warning, the aurora borealis began erupting in front of me." (continued below)
"With adrenaline pumping, I raced to the edge of the caldera, set up a time-lapse sequence, and watched northern lights dance until sunrise," he continues. "The moon rose around 2am and blanketed the surrounding landscape with a faint glow, adding depth and texture to the shot."
The source of the display was an interplanetary shock wave, which hit Earth's magnetic field during the late hours of May 31st. Forecasters still aren't sure where the shock wave came from. Current speculation focuses on a corotating interaction region (CIR)-a shock-like transition zone between slow and fast streams of solar wind. Whatever it was, the impact ignited some beautiful auroras.
Solar wind
speed: 567.0 km/sec
density: 1.8 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 1517 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: B5 0901 UT Jun04
24-hr: B8 0052 UT Jun04
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 1500 UT
Daily Sun: 03 Jun 13
Sunspot 1762 has a beta-gamma magnetic field that harbors energy for M-class solar flares. Credit: SDO/HMI
Sunspot number: 99
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 03 Jun 2013
Spotless Days
Current Stretch: 0 days
2013 total: 0 days (0%)
2012 total: 0 days (0%)
2011 total: 2 days (<1%)
2010 total: 51 days (14%)
2009 total: 260 days (71%)
Since 2004: 821 days
Typical Solar Min: 486 days
Update 03 Jun 2013
The Radio Sun
10.7 cm flux: 111 sfu
explanation | more data
Updated 03 Jun 2013
Current Auroral Oval:
Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/POES
Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 1 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 3 quiet
explanation | more data
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 2.5 nT
Bz: 2.3 nT north
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 1517 UT
Coronal Holes: 01 Jun 13
Solar wind flowing from this coronal hole should hit Earth's magnetic field on June 3-4. Credit: SDO/AIA.
NEW: Spaceweather.com is now posting daily satellite images of noctilucent clouds (NLCs), which hover over Earth's poles at the edge of space. The data come from NASA's AIM spacecraft. The north polar "daisy" pictured below is a composite of near-realtime images from AIM assembled by researchers at the University of Colorado's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP).
Noctilucent Clouds
Switch view: Europe, USA, Asia, Polar
Updated at: 06-03-2013 10:55:02
