A CME WILL BARELY MISS EARTH LATER THIS WEEK: On Dec. 5th, a magnetic filament in the sun's southern hemisphere exploded. The swirling debris will probably sail just south of our planet on Dec. 10th. No geomagnetic storms are expected, but the near miss could spark auroras around the poles. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
SUNRISE SOLAR ECLIPSE: Last weekend's Antarctic solar eclipse was so remote, some photos have taken days to reach us. It's worth the wait. The latest snapshot comes from Judy Anderson, who watched the eclipse from the deck of the National Geographic/Lindblad ship Endurance:
"This image shows the Dec. 4th total eclipse as seen from the South Atlantic Ocean between South Georgia Island and the Falklands," explains Anderson. "The sun is flattened and reddened from its low altitude, about 1/2 degree above the horizon."
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WHERE IS COMET LEONARD? A better question might be, when is Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1)? To see the brightest comet of the year, you have to wake up before sunrise. Go outside while the sky is still dark and look east toward the constellation Serpens. "It is an easy target for DLSR cameras," reports Matti Helin, who sends this picture from southern Finland:
"I would have made a longer exposure, but It was a rather cool morning, -21 degrees Celsius!" says Helin.
Comet Leonard is rapidly brightening as it approaches Earth for a close encounter on Dec. 12th (35 million km). Just this morning it cracked 6th magnitude, making it barely visible to the unaided eye. Between now and Dec. 12th the comet could brighten another 5-fold to magnitude +4. Small telescopes and binoculars will have no trouble finding the green fuzzball in the pre-dawn sky, although it may remain a challenge for naked eyes.
Above: The blue curve traces the predicted brightness of Comet Leonard. Crosses are recent observations. Credit: Comet Observation Database
How can the brightest comet of the year be "barely visible?" 2021 is not a good year for comets. None of the ice balls flying through the inner Solar System this year has brightened enough for casual sky watchers to easily see. Comet Leonard is the least dim of an underwhelming collection.
Now for the good news: The view through a telescope is out of this world. Comet Leonard sky maps: Dec. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.
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GIFTS FROM THE EDGE OF SPACE: Christmas is coming. 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.
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