SOLAR WIND, INCOMING: A high speed stream of solar wind is approaching Earth. ETA: Dec. 8th or 9th. The gaseous material is flowing from a canyon-shaped hole in the sun's atmosphere. Minor G1-class geomagnetic storms are possible when the solar wind arrives. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
IS THE SUN ABOUT TO WAKE UP? For the past few months, solar activity has been sluggish with few strong solar flares and no CMEs able to land a direct hit on Earth. Now the sun may be waking up. This picture taken by Eduardo Schaberger Poupeau of Rafaela, Argentina, shows why:
"The full disk of our star is suddenly showing a lot of activity," says Poupeau.
There are five big sunspots and two long filaments of magnetism--all facing Earth and poised to erupt. Of special interest is sunspot AR3157, which underwent a period of hyperactivity over the weekend before it turned toward Earth. Odds favor a geoeffective eruption this week. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text.
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TAIKONAUTS RETURN TO EARTH: Three Chinese astronauts ("taikonauts") returned to Earth on Sunday, Dec 4th, following a six-month mission on China's newly-completed Tiangong space station. Amateur astronomer Gao Xing photographed the fiery reentry of their capsule from Nanshan Mountain in Xinjiang, China:
"I made a video which captured both the Chinese Space Station and the Shenzhou-14 return capsule," says Xing. "The capsule carrying astronauts Chen Dong, Liu Yang and Cai Xu Zhe had already separated from the Service Module. The said Service Module can be seen trailing behind and already broken into thousands of pieces stretched over a distance of several hundred of kilometers."
Not long after Xing took this picture, the capsule landed in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous region. Staff from the Chinese space agency declared the entire mission, which began on June 5th, a "complete success", according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
The mission was indeed significant. The three astronauts oversaw the final assembly of Tiangong, and they handed control of the space station to a new crew of 3 who arrived Nov. 29th onboard Shenzhou-15. This event therefore marks the beginning of China's permanent habitation of Earth orbit.
more images: from Philip Smith of Manorville, NY
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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.
These unique gifts have floated 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. 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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