SOLAR WIND CONTINUES TO BLOW: For the third day in a row, a fast-moving stream of solar wind is blowing around Earth. Wind speeds in excess of 600 km/s are disturbing our planet's polar magnetic field and causing auroras to dance around the Arctic Circle. Last night, during a G1-class geomagnetic storm, Chad Blakley photographed Northern Lights over Abisko, Sweden:
"The mixture of silvery moonlight and green auroras was sublime," says Blakley.
Blakley's picture is special to us because almost the entire staff of Spaceweather.com happens to be standing beside that overgrown Bonzai tree. Photographer Oliver Wright and explorer Roger Marklund are also there. "It was a great night out with a fantastic group of aurora watchers," he says.
NOAA forecasters estimate a 20% chance of G1-class geomagnetic storms on Dec. 10th. Arctic auroras do not require full-fledged geomagnetic storming and will almost certainly reappear tonight as the solar wind continues to blow. Free: Aurora Alerts
GEMINID METEOR SHOWER: Canada's Meteor Orbit Radar (CMOR) is picking up echoes from the constellation Gemini. It's a sign that the annual Geminid meteor shower is underway. The bright pink "hot spot" in this CMOR sky map shows where Geminid meteoroids are hitting the atmosphere on Dec. 9th:
Geminid meteoroids are gravelly debris from "rock comet" 3200 Phaethon. They hit Earth's atmosphere traveling ~35 km/s (78,000 mph) and typically disintegrate about 80 km (50 miles) above Earth's surface.
While many Geminids are faint, bright fireballs are not unusual. Brian Emfinger saw one of them last night burning up above Pinnacle Mountain near Little Rock, Arkansas:
"Despite bright moonlight and the city lights of nearby Little Rock, this fireball was easy to see," says Emfinger.
At the moment, visible Geminid meteor rates are no more than a few per hour. Sightings will increase in the nights ahead as Earth plunges deeper into the debris zone of 3200 Phaethon. Forecasters expect peak rates to occur on Dec. 13-14 when observers in both hemispheres could see dozens of Geminids per hour despite the glare of a bright full Moon. [sky map]
STUDENT SPECIAL: Is there a young scientist in your life? For Christmas, you can give them the gift of exploration. For the holiday season only, we're reducing the cost of payload space on Earth to Sky Calculus balloons from $500 to only $299.95. Buy an edge of space gift certificate before Dec. 25th and your student can send an experiment, photo, or keepsake item to the stratosphere, completely supported by an Earth to Sky Calculus launch and recovery team.
This is not only a great Christmas gift, but also a good kickstarter for science fair projects. Experiments will be flown and returned along with video footage, GPS tracking, temperature, pressure, altimetry and radiation data.
To take advantage of the discounted rate, payment must be received before Dec. 25th. However, the flight can take place at any time in the next 12 months. A Skype brainstorming session is included with each certificate. Dr. Tony Phillips and other members of the Earth to Sky team will chat with students to help them craft an experiment that will work in the harsh environment of the stratosphere.
More far out Christmas gifts may be found in the Earth to Sky Store. All proceeds support space weather research.
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