Exobiology Deputy Branch Chief Melissa Kirven-Brooks

Images

Thursday, 04 April 2024

“… I've just seen such tremendous things happen since I've been part of the Astrobiology Program, and that's why I'm pretty confident we're going to find life elsewhere, because there are just so many brilliant people working on this.” — Melissa Kirven-Brooks, Exobiology Deputy Branch Chief and Future Workforce Lead of the NASA Astrobiology Program, NASA’s Ames Research Center

Image Credit: NASA/Brandon Torres

Planetary Positions

29.04.2024 at 18:34:46 UTC

Planet	Longitude
The Sun	09 Tau 55' 23"
The Moon	18 Cap 15' 33"
Mercury	16 Ari 42' 31"
Venus	00 Tau 21' 44"
Mars	29 Pis 19' 35"
Jupiter	23 Tau 50' 11"
Saturn	16 Pis 31' 47"
Uranus	22 Tau 19' 03"
Neptune	28 Pis 53' 32"
Pluto	02 Aqu 06' 06"

Solar Status

BZ Status:	-1
Proton Density:	0.16
Proton Speed:	463.8 k/sec
KP Status:	1.33

Type	Apr 29	Apr 30	May 1
Active	30%	20%	35%
Minor	10%	10%	15%
Moderate	1%	1%	5%
Strong	1%	1%	1%
Kp Index Prediction
00-03UT	2.67	2.33	2.00
03-06UT	2.00	2.67	2.67
06-09UT	2.33	2.00	3.67
09-12UT	2.67	2.00	3.33
12-15UT	2.33	1.67	3.00
15-18UT	2.33	1.67	2.67
18-21UT	2.33	2.67	2.67
21-00UT	2.67	1.67	3.67
Solar Activity
Solar activity reached moderate levels. Region 3654 (S07W43, Ekc/beta-gamma-delta) produced two R1 (Minor) events; an M2.5 flare at 29/0048 UTC and an M3.7 flare at 29/0111 UTC. Region 3654 continued a trend of growth, especially in the intermediate and trailer spots, and maintained a delta magnetic configuration in the largest intermediate spot. New Regions 3661 (N23E69, Hsx/alpha) and 3662 (N30E46, Cro/beta) were numbered this period. The remaining regions were either stable or in decay. Other activity included an eruption near N13W09 at 29/0909 UTC, though no coronagraph imagery for this event is yet available. No Earth-directed CMEs were detected in available imagery.
Solar Wind
The solar wind environment was mildly enhanced due to positive polarity CH HSS influences. Total field strength reached a peak of 8 nT and the Bz component was varied between +6/-4 nT. Solar wind speeds slowly increased from from 400 km/s to around 450-500 km/s as the period progressed. The phi angle was predominantly positive throughout the period.
Energetic Particle
The greater than 2 MeV electron flux was at normal to moderate levels and the greater than 10 MeV proton flux was steady at background levels.

Exobiology Deputy Branch Chief Melissa Kirven-Brooks

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