GEMINID METEOR ALERT: This weekend, Earth is passing through a stream of debris from rock comet 3200 Phaethon, source of the annual Geminid meteor shower. Forecasters expect more than 60 meteors per hour when the shower peaks on the night of Dec. 13/14. For best results, get away from city lights and keep an eye on the sky between ~10 pm Sunday night and ~5 am Monday morning. Thanks to a perfectly-timed New Moon on Dec. 14th, rural skies will be velvety dark during the shower's peak. Sky maps: Dec. 13, 14. More: Observing tips, photo gallery.
GEMINID METEORS AND A SPRITE: Last night in Puerto Rico, Frankie Lucena went hunting for early Geminid meteors. His low-light video camera caught something unexpected. "This sprite event came as a complete surprise," says Lucena, who recorded the forms flickering at the feet of Orion:
Sprites are cold bolts of upward-directed lightning. They leap up from powerful thunderstorms, reaching altitudes as high as 100 km. Usually, when a sprite is leaping up, a corresponding bolt of regular lightning is zig-zagging down at the same time.
This one was a doozy. "According to the Vaisala Global Lightning Detection Network, the current in the downward bolt was -177 kilo-Ampères (kA)," says Lucena. For comparison, normal cloud-to-ground flashes reach only 10-30 kA.
Shortly after the sprite, Lucena witnessed a flurry of early Geminids. Could the shower's actual peak be any better? Stay tuned.
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TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE ON MONDAY: What do you get when a total eclipse occurs during a global pandemic? Possibly the least-observed eclipse in a century. On Monday, Dec. 14th, the New Moon will pass in front of the sun, producing a total eclipse in southern Chile and Argentina. International eclipse chasers will not be attending.
Even residents of Chile and Argentina will have a hard time reaching the path of totality. Large parts of both countries, especially Chile, are experiencing travel restrictions and lockdowns.
Here's what they'll miss: At maximum, the sun will be hidden for 2 minutes and 10 seconds, revealing the sun's ghostly corona to onlookers inside the Moon's shadow. The sky will darken, a cool breeze will move across the landscape, and night birds will sing at midday. On a scale of 1 to 10, it's a million.
Spaceweather.com has friends and regular contributors near the path of totality, so we hope to receive pictures of the event despite the pandemic. Fingers crossed!
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GIFTS FROM THE EDGE OF SPACE: Christmas is less than two weeks away. Are you looking for a far-out gift? Check out the Earth to Sky Store. It's filled with unique items that have flown to the edge of space onboard cosmic ray research balloons. From now until Christmas, all gifts are 10% off:
Carried aloft by giant helium balloons, these unique gifts have flown above 99.7% of Earth's atmosphere, experiencing space-like blasts of cosmic rays, extreme cold, and a wild ride parachuting back to Earth after the balloon explodes. Even Amazon doesn't carry items this far out.
All items come with a greeting card showing the gifts in flight, and telling the story of their journey to the edge of space and back again. Don't forget to enter coupon code "SPACESANTA" at checkout for a 10% holiday discount!
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
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