NEWS FROM THE SPACE ENVIRONMENT CENTER Comments and questions welcome: sec.webmaster@noaa.gov =========================================================================== August 24, 2004 ACE MAG Data Processing Change ACE MAG data processing was updated at 0000 UTC on 24 August, 2004. This update should result in improved RTSW magnetic field values that more closely match ACE Science Center data. =========================================================================== ACE Telemetry Masked May 30 - June 2, 2004 May 14 NOTICE: The ACE spacecraft will be close in front of the Sun from about May 30-June 2, 2004. During that time the telemetry will be masked by solar radio noise, and we will have no solar wind plasma, magnetic field, or particle data. =========================================================================== More Near Real-time Ionospheric Stations Reporting April 22, 2004: Data Lists for additional near real-time Ionospheric stations are online, and more stations are expected over the next year. SEC currently receives data from 52 stations, and 45 report in SAO format. See ftp.sec.noaa.gov/pub/lists/iono_day or http://www.sec.noaa.gov/ftpmenu/lists/iono_day.html Mar, 2004 Boulder Colorado, Mawson Antarctica, Bear Lake Utah, & Tromso Norway Feb, 2004 Grahamstown, Louisvale, and Madimbo from South Africa. =========================================================================== ACE RTSW EPAM Data Channel Change February 4, 2004: Real-time proton data from the EPAM LEMS30 instrument has been replaced with similar proton data from the LEMS120 sensor. The new proton channels cover the following energy ranges: 47-68 keV, 115-195 keV, 310-580 keV, and 1.06-1.9 MeV. Previous real-time electron (38-53, 175-315 keV) and proton (0.761-1.22 MeV) data from the EPAM CA60 telescope remain unchanged. Plots and Data Lists of 5-minute and 1-hour averaged data were backfilled to January 29, 2004. Additional information concerning these new data can be found in the ACE Lists README file are http://solar.sec.noaa.gov/ftpmenu/lists/ace.html or via anonymous FTP: ftp.sec.noaa.gov cd /pub/lists/ace get README =========================================================================== ACE RTSW EPAM Data Changes -- Jan 15 Update Switchover rescheduled to Feb 4, 2004 January 15, 2004 SEC is proceeding to switch the ACE RTSW EPAM proton data processing to another sensor. The operational switch over to the new sensor data has been reschedule to February 4, 2004. It is anticipated that the following proton energy ranges will be available: 47-68 keV (P1'), 115-195 keV (P3'), 321-587 keV (P5'), and 1060-1900 keV (P7'). November 12, 2003 As a result of the last two weeks of high solar activity several of the RTSW EPAM proton channels have become abnormally high and have shown excessive noise. As a result the data from the 65-112 keV (P2), 112-187 keV (P3), and 310-50 keV (P5) energy channels have been removed from the real-time plots and lists. The 1060-1910 keV (P7) channel remains but has also begun to show noise. The 761-1220 (W1) proton channel and electron channels, being from another EPAM sensor, have been unaffected. SEC is investigating the switch to another EPAM proton sensor for its RTSW data stream. =========================================================================== January 5, 2004 New "X-RAY FLARE" Event Type GOES Solar X-ray Imager (SXI) flare (XFL) reports were added to Edited Solar Events Lists on January 5. Edited Events lists from Jan 1 have been reprocessed to included XFL reports. See "Information about Edited Events" in the Solar Event Reports directory (/events/README) for more details. =========================================================================== November 4, 2003 ACE SOLAR WIND DATA CONTAMINATION ENDS The solar energetic proton event that contaminated the ACE SWEPAM instrument data resulting in incorrect solar wind density, speed, and temperature values being reported by SEC Nov 2-3 ended November 3 about 2040UT. See GOES PROTON PLOTS at http://www.sec.noaa.gov/ftpmenu/plots/proton.html =========================================================================== November 3, 2003 ACE EPAM Data Problems On October 29 the ACE EPAM 65-112 keV (P2) and 112-187 keV (P3) energy channels became spuriously high following the onset of a large solar energetic particle event and have not returned to nominal values. In addition, the 310-580 keV (P5) channel became elevated and erratic on November 1 and 2 during a second solar energetic particle event. The P5 channel appears to have recovered; however, this does not preclude similar problems in the future. The EPAM instrument team and SEC are investigating the cause of these problems and a possible cure. Look for more information here as information becomes available. ACE SOLAR WIND DATA CONTAMINATED A solar energetic proton event is contaminating the ACE SWEPAM instrument data resulting in incorrect solar wind density, speed, and temperature values being reported by SEC. The contamination begin Nov 2 at 1820 UTC. See GOES PROTON PLOT http://www.sec.noaa.gov/rt_plots/pro_3d.html ========================================================================== October 28, 2003 ACE SOLAR WIND DATA CONTAMINATED A solar energetic proton event is contaminating the ACE SWEPAM instrument data resulting in incorrect solar wind density, speed, and temperature values being reported by SEC. The contamination begin Oct 28 at 1242 UTC. See GOES Proton Plot http://www.sec.noaa.gov/rt_plots/pro_3d.html ========================================================================== Sept 5, 2003 Solar Image Files Ended No solar images have been received since Sept 1. The /gif and /fits directories will be emptied in the near future. See www.sec.noaa.gov/solar_sites.html for alternative solar image sites. ======================================================================== July 21, 2003 SEC Solar Image Web Pages and File Ending September 1, 2003 After 10 years, SEC is replacing their solar images web pages (http://sec.noaa.gov/solar_images/ ) with a new Solar Image Sites References web page (http://sec.noaa.gov/solar_sites.html). The new page will contain links to solar image sites used by SEC Space Weather Operations in their routine analysis of solar activity. Watch for the new page in August. The solar image pages and files are scheduled to end September 1, 2003. SEC is making these changes because the number of sites used by SEC for our current web pages has decreased and fewer images are being offered. There are now many other web sites with high-quality, near-real-time solar images, from a variety of ground-based and space-based sources. The static filenames for the current h-alpha images will also end September 1: current_fdha_stamp.gif and current_fdha.gif current_region_stamp.gif and current_region.gif SEC has static filenames for current solar x-ray coronal structure images from the NOAA GOES SXI Imager. http://sec.noaa.gov/sxi/ See SXI Static Filenames links and description at http://sec.noaa.gov/sxi/DataAndSoftware.html Comments welcome LarryCombs@noaa.gov ======================================================================== GOES Designation Changes effective June 18, 2003 June 19 -- To ensure continued operational monitoring of important energetic particle data, it is necessary to reassign primary/secondary designations for the GOES Space Environment Monitor (SEM) detectors. Beginning 1700 UTC on June 19, GOES 11 (105W) will become the primary satellite for protons. GOES 12 (75W) will continue as the primary satellite for magnetometer, X-ray, and electron measurements. GOES 10 (135W) will be the secondary satellite for all SEM sensors - magnetometer, X-ray, and energetic particles. Because of the degraded state of the proton data on GOES-10, its designation as the secondary source for proton data is a short-term solution. More permanent solutions have been identified and are being evaluated. Users will be notified when we define and schedule a permanent fix. ======================================================================== GOES 12/10 Designated SEC's Primary/Secondary GOES Satellites GOES 8 energetic protons available again May 15 -- GOES 12 is now SEC's primary GOES satellite, except for energetic proton detectors where GOES 8 is primary. GOES 10 is the backup. The GOES 10 energetic proton detectors are showing intermittent, high noise levels in the higher energy proton channels (greater than about 80 MeV). This problem was first noticed in data taken April 26, 2003 See 2003 Proton Plots: via ftp cd /pub/plots/2003_plots/proton or http://www.sec.noaa.gov/ftpmenu/plots/2003_plots/proton.html This pattern is similar to problems experienced on the GOES 12 EPS Dome detector prior its P6 and P7 channel failures earlier this year. The loss of the P6 and P7 channels significantly impacts SEC's integral proton flux products above about 10 MeV (e.g., >10 MeV, >50 MeV, and >100 MeV). Therefore, we are acquiring energetic proton data from old GOES 8 satellite. GOES 8 differential proton flux and integral proton flux data are available in the /lists/pchan and /lists/particle directories. GOES 8 is used in Proton Flux plots. The electron processing algorithm has been modified in response to the high noise level that recently developed in the GOES 12, P6 proton channel. Caution should be used when interpreting the GOES-10 energetic proton data. One indication of the presence of high noise levels in the absence of a true enhancement in the proton flux is that all of the integral flux products above about 10 MeV (e.g., >10 MeV, >50 MeV, and >100 MeV) show nearly equal values, due to the fact that all of these derived integral fluxes are being dominated by the same high noise levels in the highest energy measurements. For detailed information see http://www.sec.noaa.gov/GOES.html ======================================================================== !!!!! NOTICE GOES Satellite Changes !!!!! !!!!! GOES 8 Ended, GOES 12 Begins !!!!! April 8, SEC stopped using GOES 8 data. GOES 10 is now SEC's primary GOES satellite, with GOES 12 the backup for non-SXI data: magnetometer, XRS x-ray measurements, and energetic particles. SXI is only available from GOES 12. NOTE: No integral particle and electron flux values available on GOES 12. GOES 12 data lists began April 1. See details at http://sec.noaa.gov/GOES.html ======================================================================== March 31, 2003 !!!!! NOTICE GOES Satellite Changes !!!!! !!!!! GOES 8 Ends, GOES 12 Begins !!!!! Beginning 1500 UT April 8, SEC will begin using data from the GOES 12 satellite, and stop receiving GOES 8 data. SEC tracks two GOES satellites and designates one as the primary and the other the secondary GOES satellite. With the switch from GOES 8 to GOES 12, the primary/secondary designations will change. GOES 10 will be the primary satellite and GOES 12 the secondary for magnetometer, XRS x-ray measurements, and energetic particles. GOES 12 data lists will begin April 1. See details at http://www.sec.noaa.gov/GOES.html ======================================================================== March 31, 2003 Technical difficulties at CRL resulted in an ACE data outage from March 30, 2300UT to March 31, 0700UT. Alternative coverage was arranged until the CRL problem is corrected. See http://www.sec.noaa.gov/ace/acetrack_48h.html ======================================================================== January 3, 2003 Scheduled 1-hour interruption of service January 9 SEC network upgrades, and connections to faster circuits, are scheduled for Thursday Jan 9 around 1400 UTC. SEC machine will be unavailable for about 1 hour. Many users should see improved network response times from SEC after the upgrades. ======================================================================== November 4, 2002 Correction to X-ray Background Flux Calculation SEC has determined that its Daily GOES X-ray Background Flux calculation was incorrect. The values were corrected as of 22 October 2002. Archives of the daily background values both at SEC and at NGDC will be corrected in due course. For more information see: http://www.sec.noaa.gov/XrayBkgdCorrection.html ======================================================================== October 30, 2002 GOES-8 X-ray Data Interruptions Ongoing GOES-8 spacecraft problems may result in occassional X-ray data interruptions in the future. ======================================================================== October 15, 2002 Daily Geomagnetic Data Lists(DGD.txt) time change The Planetary K- and A-indices are arriving at SEC later that in the past. To increase the availability of this data, the Daily Geomagnetic Data list (DGD.txt) is now running every 3 hours at 30 minutes past the hour, beginning at 0030 UTC instead of 20 minutes past the hour. ======================================================================== August 23 USAF SECONDARY Magnetometer Analysis Messages End The following products are no longer available: USAF Hourly Secondary Magnetometer Analysis USAF 24-Hour Secondary Magnetometer Analysis They were in the Latest Solar-Geophysical Data Directory (ftp ftp/pub/latest/) and Alerts, Forecasts, and Summaries -- USAF Magnetometer Analysis reports directoy (ftp ftp/pub/forecasts/MA) Only the SECONDARY station messages (MA2hr.txt and MA2da.txt) ended. The primary USAF Magnetometer Analysis messages (MAhr.txt and MAda.txt) will continue to be available. ======================================================================== August 12 ACE Magnetometer Data Outage Averaged Magnetometer data was unavailable August 10 and 11 due to a software problem. An older software version is being used until the new software is corrected. ======================================================================== August 9 USAF SECONDARY Magnetometer Analysis Messages Ending August 23 Products: USAF Hourly Secondary Magnetometer Analysis USAF 24-Hour Secondary Magnetometer Analysis In Latest Solar-Geophysical Data Directory (ftp ftp/pub/latest/) and Alerts, Forecasts, and Summaries -- USAF Magnetometer Analysis reports directoy (ftp ftp/pub/forecasts/MA) Note: this effects the SECONDARY station messages (MA2hr.txt and MA2da.txt), the primary USAF Magnetometer Analysis messages (MAhr.txt and MAda.txt) will continue as usual. ======================================================================== July 1 Operational MSM Output Ended The Operational MSM data (lists and plots in /pub/lists/msm and /pub/plots/msm) ended June 30, 2002. The non-operational MSM prediction, based on the Costello Geomagnetic Activity Index test product, is available at http://www.sec.noaa.gov/rpc/msm/index.html ======================================================================== June 14 Solar Region Number Sequence The latest SEC Solar Region Number is 9998, and is expected to reach 10,000 this weekend. SEC products will continue to use 4-digit region numbers, with leading zeros. The sequencing for Solar Region Numbers will be: 9998, 9999, 0000, 0001,... SEC will monitor products that contain region numbers, but problems may not be resolved until Monday June 17. ======================================================================== June 12 USAF 27-day Solar Radio Flux Forecast Ended May 24 On May 24, the USAF stopped issuing the 27-day Solar Radio Flux Forecast. This product was at http://sec.noaa.gov/ftpmenu/forecasts/SRFF.html and ftp://sec.noaa.gov/pub/latest/SRFF.txt or ftp.sec.noaa.gov cd /pub/latest get SRFF.txt Alternatives 10.7cm Solar Radio Flux Forecasts are The SEC 27-Day Outlook of 10.7cm Flux, Ap, and largest Kp list at http://sec.noaa.gov/ftpmenu/weekly.html (with other forecasts) http://www.sec.noaa.gov/ftpdir/latest/27DO.txt Text only or ftp://sec.noaa.gov/pub/latest/20DO.txt ftp.sec.noaa.gov cd /pub/latest get SRFF.txt The USAF 45-Day AP and F10.7cm Flux Forecast at http://sec.noaa.gov/ftpmenu/forecasts/45DF.html (last 20) http://www.sec.noaa.gov/ftpdir/latest/45DF.txt (latest only) or ftp://sec.noaa.gov/pub/latest/45DF.txt ftp.sec.noaa.gov cd /pub/forecasts/45DF get date45DF.txt ftp.sec.noaa.gov cd /pub/latest get 45DF.txt ======================================================================== May 28 USAF Auroral Oval Plots Ended May 24 On May 23, the USAF stopped production of the Auroral Oval Plot. See http://sec.noaa.gov/ftpmenu/forecasts/oval.html or ftp://sec.noaa.gov/pub/latest/oval.txt or ftp.sec.noaa.gov cd /pub/latest get oval.txt The information contained in this bulletin will be depicted in a graphical format on USAF web pages at HTTPS://WEATHER.AFWA.AF.MIL OR HTTP://SAFWIN.OFFUTT.AF.SMIL.MIL The new format is NOT available on the SEC FTP server. If you have questions or concerns please contact HQ AFWA/XORC AT DSN 271-1631 OR COMMERCIAL (402) 294-1631. ============================================================== March 12, 2002 !!! NOTICE: WWV (Geophysical Alert Message) FORMAT CHANGE On March 12, 2002 the format of the WWV message changed See new WWV samples and description on the web page http://sec.noaa.gov/Data/info/WWVdoc.html ======================================================================== May 1, 2002 Solar Proton Events List Updated The Solar Proton Events List was updated with events through April 21, 2002. The list is at /pub/indices/SPE.txt and also on a new web page at http://sec.noaa.gov/alerts/SPE.html ======================================================================== ======================================================================== SEC FTP Servers SEC operates two redundant FTP servers: ftp.sec.noaa.gov and ftp2.sec.noaa.gov Please do not use the ftp.sel.noaa.gov address ======================================================================== "Gopher" Connections from Web Browsers Replaced While SEC continues to support Gopher protocol to its Anonymous FTP site, a Web browser connection is recommended. OLD URL gopher://sec.noaa.gov BETTER URL http://sec.noaa.gov/ftpmenu ======================================================================== UT and UTC -- SEC products use Coordinated Universal Time which is abbreviated as UTC. Some older products still use the UT notation. ======================================================================== Please send questions and comments to Viola Raben, vraben@sec.noaa.gov