Aurora : 28 july 2000

0ForecastsNOAA/SEC TSWSpaceWeather.com
1Xray flaresNOAA/SEC GOES
2Earth directed?SOHO LASCO-C3SOHO EIT-195
3SpeedACE SWEPAMSOHO protons
4Mass influx 1ACE EPAM electronsACE EPAM protons
5Mass influx 2ACE SIS protonsNOAA/SEC GOES protons
6Mag. satelliteACE MAGNOAA/SEC GOES
7Mag. earthNorway - TromsoGermany - Wingst
8Kp-indexNOAA/SEC GOESCostello (ACE)
9Auroral OvalNOAA/SEC POESSolar Terrestrial Dispatch




NOAA/SEC GOES Xray flux


Real time data: http://www.maj.com/sun/images/noaa_xrays.gif


Definition of an X-RAY BURST.
A temporary enhancement of the X-ray emission of the sun. The time-intensity profile of soft X-ray bursts is similar to that of the H-ALPHA profile of an associated FLARE.

Definition of the X-RAY FLARE CLASS.
Rank of a FLARE based on its X-ray energy output. Flares are classified by the order of magnitude of the peak burst intensity (I) measured at the earth in the 1 to 8 angstrom band as follows:

Definition of H-ALPHA.
This ABSORPTION LINE of neutral hydrogen falls in the red part of the visible spectrum and is convenient for solar observations. The H-alpha line is universally used for patrol observations of solar flares.


Image courtesy of NOAA Space Environment Center (SEC), Boulder, Colorado, USA




NOAA/SEC GOES8 Proton flux


Real time data: http://www.maj.com/sun/images/noaa_proton_G8_3d.gif


Definition of a PROTON EVENT.
By definition, the measurement of at least 10 protons/sq.cm/sec/steradian at energies greater than 10 MeV.

Definition of a PROTON FLARE.
Any FLARE producing significant FLUXes of greater-than-10 MeV protons in the vicinity of the earth.

Energetic protons can reach Earth within 30 minutes of a major flare's peak. During such an event, Earth is showered with highly energetic solar particles (primarily protons) released from the flare site. Some of these particles spiral down Earth's magnetic field lines, reaching the upper layers of our atmosphere.


Image courtesy of NOAA Space Environment Center (SEC), Boulder, Colorado, USA




NOAA/SEC GOES Magnetometer


Real time data: http://www.maj.com/sun/images/noaa_mag_3d.gif


Image courtesy of NOAA Space Environment Center (SEC), Boulder, Colorado, USA




NOAA/SEC Estimated Planetary K index


Real time data: http://www.maj.com/sun/images/noaa_kp_3d.gif


Definition of the K INDEX.
A 3-hourly quasi-logarithmic local index of geomagnetic activity relative to an assumed quiet-day curve for the recording site. Range is from 0 to 9. The K index measures the deviation of the most disturbed horizontal component.

Definition of the Kp INDEX.
A 3-hourly planetary geomagnetic index of activity generated in Gottingen, Germany, based on the K INDEX from 12 or 13 stations distributed around the world.

Kp and its related indices (ap, Ap, Cp) have been widely used in ionospheric and atmospheric studies and are generally recognized as indices measuring the effect of energetic charged particles arriving in Earth's upper atmosphere after periods of intense solar activity.


Image courtesy of NOAA Space Environment Center (SEC), Boulder, Colorado, USA




NOAA/SEC POES Auroral Oval


Real time data: http://sec.noaa.gov/pmap/pmapN.html


Image courtesy of NOAA Space Environment Center (SEC), Boulder, Colorado, USA




NASA ACE RTSW (Estimated) SWEPAM
(Electron, Proton, and Alpha Monitor)


Real time data: http://www.sec.noaa.gov/ace/EPAM_3d.html


The Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) launched at 10:39 a.m., August 25, 1997


Image courtesy of NASA Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE)
Caltech, Pasadena, California, USA




NASA ACE RTSW (Estimated) EPAM
(Electrons)


Real time data: http://www.sec.noaa.gov/ace/EPAM_3d.html


The Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) launched at 10:39 a.m., August 25, 1997


Image courtesy of NASA Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE)
Caltech, Pasadena, California, USA




NASA ACE RTSW (Estimated) EPAM
(Protons)


Real time data: http://www.sec.noaa.gov/ace/EPAM_3d.html


The Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) launched at 10:39 a.m., August 25, 1997


Image courtesy of NASA Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE)
Caltech, Pasadena, California, USA




NASA ACE RTSW (Estimated) MAG & SWEPAM
(Magnetometer & Solar Wind Electron, Proton, and Alpha Monitor)


Real time data: http://www.sec.noaa.gov/ace/MAG_SWEPAM_3d.html


The Solar Wind Electron, Proton, and Alpha Monitor (SWEPAM) measures the solar wind plasma electron and ion fluxes (rates of particle flow) as functions of direction and energy. These data provide detailed knowledge of the solar wind conditions and internal state every minute. SWEPAM also provides real-time solar wind observations which are continiously telemetered to the ground for space weather purposes.

Electron and ion measurements are made with separate sensors. The ion sensor measures particle energies between about 0.26 and 36 KeV, and the electron sensor's energy range is between 1 and 1350 eV. Both sensors use electrostatic analyzers with fan-shaped fields-of-view. The electrostatic analyzers measure the energy per charge of each particle by bending their flight paths through the system. The fields-of-view are swept across all solar wind directions by the rotation of the spacecraft.


Image courtesy of NASA Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE)
Caltech, Pasadena, California, USA




NASA ACE RTSW (Estimated) SIS
(Solar Isotope Spectrometer)


Real time data: http://www.sec.noaa.gov/ace/SIS_3d.html


The Solar Isotope Spectrometer (SIS) is designed to provide high resolution measurements of the isotopic composition of energetic nuclei from He to Ni (Z=2 to 28) over the energy range from ~10 to ~100 MeV/nucleon. During large solar events, when particle fluxes can increase over quiet-time values by factors of up to 10000, SIS will measure the isotopic composition of the solar corona.


Image courtesy of NASA Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE)
Caltech, Pasadena, California, USA




Costello Predicted Activity Index
(in Kp units)


Real time data: http://www.sec.noaa.gov/rpc/costello/pkp_15m_7d.html


The Costello Geomagnetic Activity Index model was developed by Kirt Costello at Rice University under support from the US Air Force and Sterling Software, Inc. It is a neural network algorithm that was trained on the response of the Kp geomagnetic activity index to solar wind parameters. The model takes the most recent two hours of solar wind data and returns a 3-hour activity index prediction in units of Kp. The valid time of the prediction is indicated on the output graphics by horizontal bars.


Image courtesy of NOAA Space Environment Center (SEC), Boulder, Colorado, USA




NASA/ESA SOHO Proton Monitor - 2 days


Real time data: http://umtof.umd.edu/pm/latest2day.gif


From top to bottom, the 4 panels represent the following solar wind proton parameters:

SOHO is never in the magnetosphere and enjoys excellent data coverage. The data on the Web page are typically between a few minutes and a few hours old.


Image courtesy of the Space Physics Group of the University of Maryland



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back.gif This page was last modified on July 31, 2000 by
Casper ter Kuile and Peter Bus