MORNING MISSILE SHOW: This morning in Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada, early risers witnessed a plume of iridescent gas twisting in the dawn sky. It was the icy exhaust of a Juno rocket launched from Fort Wingate in Gallup, New Mexico. The Juno was a target for another missile, a Patriot interceptor, launched shortly thereafter. This military test was conducted by the White Sands Missile Range. Images: #1, #2, #3, #4
POLAR LIGHTS: In the Arctic, springtime ended months ago. Nevertheless, butterflies have been sighted. This one appeared last night over Grøtfjord, Norway:
Helge Mortensen took the picture on Sept. 12th. "The auroras were not a strong as some I've seen, but it was still nice to be outside and watch such a beautiful apparition," he says.
This Northern Lepidoptera appeared when a "kink" in the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) drifted past Earth, briefly opening a crack in our planet's magnetosphere. Solar wind poured in to fuel the display. At the peak of the storm, the Arctic Circle was glowing from Scandinavia to Iceland to Canada.
Earth's polar magnetic field is settling down again, but more Arctic auroras are in the offing, especially on Sept 14-15 when a solar wind stream is expected to reach our planet. Check the gallery for latest images from around the poles.
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Solar wind
speed: 394.7 km/sec
density: 0.3 protons/cm3
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 1556 UT
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X-ray Solar Flares
6-hr max: C1 0751 UT Sep13
24-hr: C2 0510 UT Sep13
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at: 1459 UT
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Daily Sun: 13 Sep 12
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Departing sunspot 1564 poses a slight threat for M-class solar flares, not Earth-directed. Credit: SDO/HMI
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Sunspot number: 68
What is the sunspot number?
Updated 12 Sep 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 12 Sep 2012
The Radio Sun
10.7 cm flux: 105 sfu
explanation | more data
Updated 12 Sep 2012
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Current Auroral Oval:
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Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica
Credit: NOAA/POES
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Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 1 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 3 quiet
explanation | more data
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Interplanetary Mag. Field
Btotal: 5.1 nT
Bz: 0.0 nT
explanation | more data
Updated: Today at 1556 UT
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Coronal Holes: 12 Sep 12
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A pair of coronal holes is emerging over the sun's eastern limb. Credit: SDO/AIA
