ORIONID METEOR SHOWER: Next weekend, Earth will pass through a stream of debris from Halley's Comet, source of the annual Orionid meteor shower. Forecasters expect ~25 meteors per hour when the shower peaks on Oct. 21st. [video] [full story] [NASA Chat]
BAY AREA FIREBALL: Last night, Oct. 17th, many people near San Francisco saw a slow-moving fireball exploding in the sky around 07:45 pm PDT. Witnesses report bright flashes of light and sonic booms that shook houses. Using a wide-field camera, Wes Jones caught the meteor disappearing behind the trees in the city of Belmont:
"We don't know yet if the end point [of the meteor's flight] was over land or water," says meteor expert Peter Jenniskens of the NASA Ames Research Center. Jenniskens operates a network of Cameras for All-sky Meteor Surveillance (CAMS) near the Bay Area. "Data from the CAMS system should give us an answer [about landfall]. We're analyzing the data now." Stay tuned.
Note: Although Earth is nearing a stream of debris from Halley's Comet, source of the Orionid meteor shower, this fireball was probably not an Orionid. The timing and direction of the meteor do not seem to match the Orionids.
Solar wind
speed: 588.2 km/sec
density: 0.1 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 1447 UT
X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: B6 0908 UT Oct18
24-hr: B6 0908 UT Oct18
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 1359 UT
Daily Sun: 18 Oct 12
A potentially significant sunspot is emerging at the circled location. Credit: SDO/HMI
Sunspot number: 100
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 18 Oct 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
Update 18 Oct 2012
The Radio Sun
10.7 cm flux: 135 sfu
explanation | more data
Updated 18 Oct 2012
Current Auroral Oval:
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
Btotal: 4.1 nT
Bz: 1 nT south
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 1446 UT
Coronal Holes: 18 Oct 12
There are no large coronal holes on the Earthside of the sun. Credit: SDO/AIA.
