THE SOLAR WIND IS COMING: A stream of fast-moving solar wind could hit Earth's magnetic field on Dec. 16. The gaseous material is flowing from a southern hole in the sun's atmosphere. Polar geomagnetic unrest and Arctic auroras are expected when the solar wind arrives. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
GEMINID FIREBALLS: Right now, gravelly debris from rock comet 3200 Phaethon is burning up in Earth's atmosphere. It's the annual Geminid meteor shower. Last night, a smart network of NASA cameras recorded 266 fireballs over the USA and triangulated their orbits. Here they are:
Earth is the blue dot. All the fireballs hit Earth--otherwise we couldn't see them. The sun is at the center of the diagram.
Note the cluster of yellow ovals. Those trace the orbit of 3200 Phaethon's debris stream, and thus they are Geminids (181 of them). The others are random meteoroids called 'sporadics' coming from all directions and angles. Geminids outnumbered the sporadics more than 2 to 1.
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TIANGONG FLYBY: This week China's new Tiangong space station is making a series of visible flybys over the USA, some as bright as 1st magnitude. On Dec. 12th, such a flyby occurred over Manorville, NY, where Philip Smith was waiting with his 14-inch telescope. This is what he saw:
Above: Smith's telescopic view of Tiangong. Below: a computer rendering for comparison
"I photographed the space station just before the apex of the flyby," says Smith. "It was 86 degrees above my horizon--almost directly overhead."
Smith's image clearly shows the cylindrical backbone of the station, its rectangular solar arrays, and a hint of the Shenzhou-13 spacecraft docked to it. Not shown are 3 astronauts currently onboard. Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping, and Ye Guangfu are almost halfway through a six month mission, practicing spacewalks and building the station. They will return to Earth onboard the Shenzhou-13 in the spring of 2022.
Ready to see for yourself? Local flyby times may be found at Heavens-Above.com.
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.
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.
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