GEOMAGNETIC STORM FORECAST: As Earth exits one stream of solar wind, another is on its way. Flowing from a hole in the sun's atmosphere, the gaseous material is expected to reach our planet sometime between Dec. 4th and 6th. Minor G1-class geomagnetic storms are likely, mixed with isolated periods of stronger G2-class storming. Free: Aurora Alerts.
HERE COMES THE SUPERMOON: The biggest and brightest full Moon of 2017 is coming this weekend, on Sunday night, Dec. 3rd. It's a perigee "supermoon," almost 8% wider and 16% brighter than an average full Moon. Two nights ago, Eliot Herman photographed the waxing orb shining through thin clouds over Tucson, Arizona:
"Bright moonlight beaming through ice crystals in the clouds formed a beautiful 22-degree lunar halo," says Herman. "I expect more of these in the nights ahead as the 'supermoon' approaches."
Full moons vary in size because the Moon's orbit is not a circle, it's an ellipse: diagram. One side of the Moon's orbit, called "perigee," is 50,000 km closer to Earth than the other side, "apogee." This Sunday's Moon becomes full only 16 hours away from perigee, closer than any other full Moon of 2017.
How super will it actually look? A 16% difference in brightness can easily be masked by clouds or the glare of urban lights. Also, there are no rulers floating in the sky to measure lunar diameters. Hanging high overhead with no reference points to provide a sense of scale, one full Moon looks much like any other. To get the most out of Sunday's lunar apparition, try to catch the Moon just as it is rising or setting. This will activate the Moon Illusion and make the perigee Moon of Dec. 3rd look super, indeed.
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
THE VIEW FROM THE WINDOW SEAT: Last night, A. Hanson-Steen was flying over northern Canada, en route from Seattle to Reykjavik. Fortunately, he picked the window seat:
"I witnessed a beautiful swirl of green lights beyond the wing of the airplane," says Hanson-Steen. "The auroras were bright."
The display was caused by a stream of solar wind passing mostly to the south of our planet. The gentle graze of the gaseous material was enough to spark bright auroras around the poles. Another stream of solar wind is en route to Earth. Estimated time of arrival: Dec. 4th - 6th. Are you flying at high latitudes on those dates? You know where to sit!
THE CHRISTMAS SPACE PICKLE: The Christmas pickle is a holiday tradition in the United States. Make way for a new tradition: The Christmas Space Pickle! To raise money for their cosmic ray research, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus have flown a payload full of the glass pickle ornaments to the stratosphere, and you can have one for your own tree.
Priced at $79.95, each space-faring gherkin comes with a Christmas card showing your ornament in space. The inside flap tells the story of the pickle's flight and confirms that the pickle has traveled to the edge of space and back again. It also comes with a bonus photo of the pickle in the stratosphere. Hang it on your Christmas tree alongside the pickle itself to impress holiday visitors!
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All proceeds support hands-on STEM education