Be alerted
Five brand new products are put open for registration. All new products are email alerts and send when space weather conditions are such that a warning is needed. The emails concern the flaring conditions, halo CMEs and geomagnetic conditions. You are the first to know!
Nederlandstalige versie posted: Januari 16, 2007
We list the code name and short description of the fast alerts:
  • cactus: when the CACTus software detects in image sequences from LASCO a halo CME with an angular width of more than 180°.
  • DbKalt: when the magnetometer in Dourbes (Belgium) registers geomagnetic disturbances with a local K > 4.
  • MAKalert: this is an advance alert. When the MAK-model predicts geomagnetic disturbances with a local K (Dourbes, Belgium) >6.
  • flaremail: when SIDC software detects in the GOES data a flare with an X-ray radiation flux stronger than M5.
  • quieta: this all-quiet alert is sent when quiet space weather conditions are expected for the next 48 hours or until further notice. This implies that the solar X-ray output is expected to remain below C-class level, the K index is expected to remain below 5 and the high-energy proton fluxes are expected to remain below the event threshold. A notification of the beginning and of the end of such a period is distributed.

To register and to see examples of the last sent emails, go to the registration page.

With the recent extreme solar activity of Dec 2006 in our mind, the email alerts showed their value. Amateur astronomers, aurora spotters, scientists, satellite companies, GPS-related companies, ... can take their precautionary measures without looking everyday to the space weather monitoring and forecast. All alerts are automatically generated by software developed at the SIDC. Space Weather is monitored in this way, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The picture above is the latest alert send on Januari 15. The geomagnetic disturbances were caused by a recurrent fast coronal hole wind stream.