~Space Weather Update~ No Flare Data? Wind Speed 368 [1]
MIDNIGHT ROCKET PLUMES: On Friday, March 23rd, between midnight and 3 am EDT, NASA plans a rapid-fire launch of five sounding rockets from the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The rockets will deliver a chemical tracer to the upper reaches of Earth's atmosphere, forming milky white plumes that reveal high-speed winds at the edge of space. The display should be visible to the naked eye from coastal areas between South Carolina and New Jersey. [full story [2]] [updates [3]]
SPRING GREEN: Northern Lights continue to flicker around the Arctic Circle despite waning solar wind speeds. What's keeping them going? Answer: Equinoxes favor auroras [4]. "I love March! We've seen auroras for four straight nights," says Einar Halvorsrud, who sends this picture from Alta, Norway:
[5]
"This short explosion of lights on March 21st lasted for about 8 minutes," says Halvorsrud. "It was a beautiful sight with auroras all over the sky, in every direction."
NOAA forecasters estimate a 15% chance of polar geomagnetic storms on March 22nd. Considering the season, however, a full-fledged storm might not be necessary. Stay tuned for auroras.
Aurora alerts: text [6], phone [7].
more images: from Bernt Olsen [8] of Simavika, Tromsø, Norway; from Frank Olsen [9] of Sommarøy / Tromsø, Norway; from Arild Heitmann [10] of Tennevik River, Troms, Norway; from B.Art Braafhart [11] of Salla, Finnish-Lapland; from Einar Halvorsrud [12] of Alta, Norway; from Nenne Åman [13] of Arjeplog, northern Sweden; from Andy Keen [14] of Inari, Finland; from B.Art Braafhart [15] of Salla, Finnish-Lapland; from Dirk Obudzinski [16] of Snowshoe Creek, Alaska;
Solar wind
speed: 368.7 km/sec
density: 0.5 protons/cm3
explanation [17] | more data [18]
Updated: Today at 1544 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: no data 0000 UT 0
24-hr: no data 0000 UT 0
explanation [19] | more data [20]
Updated: Today at: UT
Daily Sun: 22 Mar 12
[21]
Sunspot 1440 is crackling with C-class [19] solar flares. Otherwise, the solar disk is mostly quiet. Credit: SDO/HMI
Sunspot number: 62
What is the sunspot number? [22]
Updated 21 Mar 2012
Spotless Days
Current Stretch: 0 days
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
Updated 21 Mar 2012
The Radio Sun
10.7 cm flux: 100 sfu
explanation [23] | more data [24]
Updated 21 Mar 2012
Current Auroral Oval:
[25]
Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/POES
Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 1 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 2 quiet
explanation [26] | more data [27]
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 3.3 nT
Bz: 2.2 nT north
explanation [28] | more data [29]
Updated: Today at 1545 UT
Coronal Holes: 22 Mar 12
[30]
There are no large coronal holes on the Earthside of the sun. Credit: SDO/AIA.
Category:
- Ground Crew Updates [31]