4TH OF JULY FIREWORKS: Chances of an X-flare today are increasing as sunspot AR1515 develops a 'beta-gamma-delta' magnetic field that harbors energy for the most powerful explosions. The sunspot's magnetic canopy is crackling with almost-X class flares, the strongest so far being an M5-flare at 09:54 UT. Each "crackle" releases more energy than a billion atomic bombs, so these are 4th of July fireworks indeed.
The sunspot itself is huge, stretching more than 100,000 km (8 Earth-diameters) from end to end. This movie from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory shows the behemoth growing and turning toward Earth over the past five days:
If any major eruptions do occur today, they will certainly be Earth-directed. The sunspot is directly facing our planet, so it is in position to cause radio blackouts, sudden ionospheric disturbances, and geomagnetic storms. X-flare alerts: text, voice.
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
LUNAR BALANCE: The Moon contains more than 7 x 1022 kg of rock and dust. Balancing such a sphere on your head might sound tricky, but this man crossing a bridge in Stockholm, Sweden, on the evening of July 3rd didn't seem to notice the weight:
"Last night I caught this person crossing Västerbron, one of Stockholm's many bridges," says photographer Peter Rosen. "Like most people nowadays he is connected to his iPhone, and seems completely unaware that he is balancing the full Moon on his head."
"The light here up in Sweden gets quite magical during the periods around the full Moons of July and August partly due to its low position in the sky and also because the sky never gets entirely dark."
Browse the realtime image gallery for more moonshots.
Solar wind
speed: 486.9 km/sec
density: 1.7 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 1426 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: M5 0955 UT Jul04
24-hr: M5 0955 UT Jul04
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 1400 UT
Daily Sun: 04 Jul 12
Sunspot 1515 has a delta-class magnetic field that harbors energy for -class solar flares. Credit: SDO/HMI
Sunspot number: 136
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 04 Jul 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 04 Jul 2012
The Radio Sun
10.7 cm flux: 146 sfu
explanation | more data
Updated 04 Jul 2012
Current Auroral Oval:
Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/POES
Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 3 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 3 quiet
explanation | more data
Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 4.5 nT
Bz: 0.6 nT north
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 1426 UT
Coronal Holes: 03 Jul 12
Solar wind flowing from this coronal hole should reach Earth on July 4-5. Credit: SDO/AIA.
