~ Space Weather Update~ Break in the Quiet M1 Class Flare

BREAK IN THE QUIET: Solar activity has been low for weeks. The emergence of sunspots AR1817 and AR1818 could break the quiet. Both pose a threat for M-class solar flares. AR1817 has already produced one almost-M class eruption:

The C8-category flare was recorded by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory on August 11th at 2158 UT. Whether it is a herald of bigger things to come remains to be seen. AR1817 is almost directly facing Earth, so any eruptions this week will probably be geoeffective. Solar flare alerts: text, voice.

PERSEID METEOR SHOWER UPDATE: The Perseid meteor shower is peaking. Last night, international observers counted as many as 75 Perseids per hour from dark sky sites, a rate that could be surpassed tonight as Earth passes through the densest part of the comet debris stream. The best time to look is during the dark hours between midnight and dawn. [photo gallery] [meteor radar]

NASA's All-Sky Fireball Network has recorded dozens of Perseid fireballs over the southern USA. Astronomer Bill Cooke, who manages the network, plotted their orbits in this diagram of the inner solar system:

The purple orbit traces the path of the parent comet, 109P/Swift-Tuttle. It nicely matches the orbits of the Perseids, color-coded green. Earth is marked by a blue dot where all the curves intersect

Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/POES

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

Interplanetary Mag. Field
B_total: 4.6 nT
B_z: 3.5 nT south
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 1457 UT

Coronal Holes: 12 Aug 13

Solar wind flowing from this coronal hole should reach Earth on August 16-16. Credit: SDO/AIA.