Our Beautiful Water World

Images

Monday, 22 April 2024

Behold one of the more detailed images of Earth. This Blue Marble Earth montage—created from photographs taken by the Visible/Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument aboard the Suomi NPP satellite—shows many stunning details of our home planet.

Image Credit: NASA

Planetary Positions

03.05.2024 at 20:06:23 UTC

Planet	Longitude
The Sun	13 Tau 51' 60"
The Moon	15 Pis 06' 02"
Mercury	18 Ari 40' 28"
Venus	05 Tau 22' 07"
Mars	02 Ari 27' 25"
Jupiter	24 Tau 47' 11"
Saturn	16 Pis 52' 52"
Uranus	22 Tau 33' 02"
Neptune	29 Pis 00' 47"
Pluto	02 Aqu 06' 13" R

Solar Status

BZ Status:	1
Proton Density:	4.18
Proton Speed:	416.5 k/sec
KP Status:	1.00

Type	May 3	May 4	May 5
Active	10%	35%	30%
Minor	25%	30%	25%
Moderate	35%	10%	10%
Strong	30%	1%	1%
Kp Index Prediction
00-03UT	6.67	4.00	3.67
03-06UT	6.00	2.33	3.33
06-09UT	4.67	3.00	2.67
09-12UT	4.00	2.67	2.33
12-15UT	3.33	2.67	2.00
15-18UT	3.00	2.67	2.00
18-21UT	2.33	2.67	2.00
21-00UT	3.67	3.67	3.00
Solar Activity
Solar activity reached high levels. Region 3663 (N26E02, Ekc/beta-gamma-delta) produced an X1.6/1b flare (R3/Strong) at 03/0219 UTC, the strongest of the period. A Type II (est. 959 km/s) and Type IV radio sweep along with a Tenflare (660 sfu) accompanied the flare. Subsequent SOHO/LASCO C2 imagery contained a CME signature directed northward after 03/0248 UTC. Analysis of the event is ongoing.
Solar Wind
Solar wind parameters suggested CME passage over the past 24 hours. An already enhanced IMF near 10 nT was abruptly increased to ~20nT at 02/1317 UTC, when an interplanetary shock was observed. The Bz component shifted far southward, with a maximum deflection of -19 nT. The Bz component was oriented mostly southward until after 02/1900 UTC. Solar wind speeds only exhibited a mild increase from 350 km/s to 400 km/s during the initial shock and then steadily increased to a maximum near 500 km/s at 03/0200 UTC. After ~03/0200 UTC, a pronounced trend towards background levels was observed in both the IMF strength and solar wind speeds.
Energetic Particle
The greater than 2 MeV electron flux was at normal to moderate levels and the greater than 10 MeV proton flux maintained at background levels.

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