GEOMAGNETIC CHRISTMAS LIGHTS: NOAA forecasters say there is a chance of minor (G1-class) geomagnetic storms on Dec. 24th and 25th as Earth passes through a stream of high-speed solar wind. The gaseous material is flowing from a northern hole in the sun's atmosphere. Auroras for Christmas, anyone? Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
URSID METEOR OUTBURST: The annual Ursid meteor shower peaked on Dec. 22nd. Normally, the shower produces only a handful of meteors per hour--but this year was not normal. "We experienced great Ursid meteor activity last night with an outburst of meteors between 0300-0400 UT," reports Paul Martin of Beaghmore, Northern Ireland. Here is one of the unexpected fireballs:
"In all, we counted 72 Ursids between 0100 and 0530 UT," says Martin.
"This is my personal highest Ursid count to date," adds Martin McKenna, who observed the shower alongside Martin. "On several occasions we observed two Ursids at the same time, and we also witnessed three fireballs."
What happened? Ursid meteors are debris from Comet 8P/Tuttle. This year, Earth passed unusually close to two streams of debris, one deposited by the comet in 815 AD and another in 829 AD. These 1200-year-old streams produced the outburst.
Realtime Meteor Photo Gallery
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THE GREAT CONJUNCTION OF JUPITER AND SATURN: It's over. Jupiter and Saturn are separating after their 800-year close encounter on Dec. 21st. These sky watchers in Florida will never forget what they saw:
"What a wonderful opportunity to share this beautiful conjunction with my wife Sandy and son Brett!" says amateur astronomer Bill Williams. "We were in Boca Raton, but my telescope was miles away in Chiefland. So after I photographed Sandy and Brett enjoying the show, I dashed inside to take the inset close-up by remote control. No one said this hobby was easy!"
More images of the Great Conjunction may be found in the Realtime Photo Gallery:
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GIFTS FROM THE EDGE OF SPACE: Christmas is this week. 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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