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METEOR
SHOWER:
The Geminid meteor shower peaks tonight. Start watching
around 9 p.m. local time on Wednesday, Dec. 13th. The
display will start small but grow in intensity as the
night wears on. By Thursday morning, Dec. 14th, people
in dark, rural areas could see one or two Geminids every
minute. [full
story] [sky
map]
X-FLARE:
Sunspot 930 has unleashed another big solar flare, an
X3-class explosion
at 0240 UT on Dec. 13th. In Huirangi, New Zealand, photographer
Andy Dodson
caught the spot in mid-flare:
Photo
details: Dec. 13, 2006, 0350 UT; Coronado SolarMax40,
Stellarvue 80.
As
a result of the blast, a radiation storm is underway.
Based on the energy and number of solar protons streaming
past Earth, NOAA ranks the storm as category S2:
satellites may experience some glitches and reboots, but
astronauts are in no danger.
The
explosion hurled a coronal mass ejection toward Earth:
movie.
Sky
watchers should be alert for auroras
when it arrives on Dec. 14th. (Note: In the
movie, the CME is barely visible through a snowstorm
of streaks and speckles. That "snow" is caused
by solar protons peppering SOHO's digital camera.)
PASTEL
SUN:
"I've been watching sunspot 930 since it first appeared
last week," says artist Mark
Seibold of Troutdale, Oregon. Inspired by the view
through his Coronado SolarMax40,
he made these pastel sketches:
Magnetic
fields and hot plasma emerging from the sunspot's dark
core reminded Seibold of "anatomical forms being
born from a black pool. It conjures up William Herschel's
assertion that 'the sun is richly stored with inhabitants.'"
Clearly,
the sun's not just a star--it's a muse. Solar activity
is surging, so grab your pastels.
BONUS:
STS-116
Night Launch Photo Gallery
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