~Space Weather Update~ Quiet Sun~ Magical Aurora's~ Wind Speed 379 [1]

QUIET OUTLOOK: The sun is peppered with sunspots, but none of them is actively flaring. Solar activity should remain low for the next 24 hours with only a slight chance of M-class [2] solar flares. Solar flare alerts: text [3], voice [4].

 

ISS-VENUS ENCOUNTER: Last night, on Valentine's Eve, the International Space Station paid a visit to the Goddess of Love. "Just after sunset on on Feb. 13th, I saw the ISS pass directly in front of Venus," reports Glenn Wester, who photographed the encounter over Long Island, New York:

 

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It could happen again tonight. The space station is making a series of bright passes over North America, zipping among the glittering stars and planets of the winter sunset sky. Local flyby times are available from SpaceWeather's Simple Satellite Tracker [6] and Flybys App [7].

 

more images: from Malcolm Park [8] of Cobourg, Ontario, Canada; from Robert Sparks [9] of Tucson, Arizona

 

AURORA WATCH: A slight disturbance in the solar wind on Feb. 12-13 was enough to ignite auroras around the Arctic Circle. On Moose mountain, near Fairbanks Alaska, cross-country skiers Marketa Stanczykova and Ronn Murray stopped to photograph the display:

 

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"The auroras were magical ... like always," says Stanczykova.

By all accounts, it was a good night to be out. "The sky was very clear, the moon had not yet risen, and above all it was warm: near +15!" reports LeRoy Zimmerman from Chandalar Ranch, also near Fairbanks. "There was a Japanese aurora tour on the property, and this was their first view of auroras. It is always great to be with a group of first-timers and hear the cheers and squeals as they see this wonder for the first time!" Zimmerman documented the event in a series of panoramic photos [11].

 

more images: from Lurie Belegurschi [12] of Iceland; from Chad Blakley [13] of Abisko National Park, Sweden; from Yuichi Takasaka [14] of Chandalar Ranch, Two River, Alaska; from Greg Lacy [15] on the Yukon River 150 miles from Fairbanks, Alaska; from Carlos López [16] of Karasjok, Norway