~1~15~11~ Space Weather Update~ Active Sunspots Incoming~
PHOBOS-GRUNT RE-ENTRY TODAY: Russia's malfunctioning Mars probe, Phobos-Grunt, will re-enter the atmosphere today, creating a brilliant fireball over a still-unknown part of Earth. Best estimates of the re-entry time range from 1700 UT to 2200 UT on Jan. 15th. The Aerospace Corporation has published some possible ground tracks.
ACTIVE SUNSPOTS: Crackling with C-class solar flares, a pair of active sunspots is emerging over the sun's northeastern limb. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory photographed the pair during the early hours of Jan. 15th:
These sunspots have the potential for strong eruptions. Sunspot 1401 produced an M1-flare on Jan. 14th. Two days earlier, while it was still on the farside of the sun, sunspot 1402 produced a partially-eclipsed flare of uncertain magnitude that created waves of ionization in the atmosphere over Europe.