December, 8th
HERE COMES THE SOLAR WIND: If
you live near the Arctic Circle, get ready for Northern Lights. A
solar wind stream is approaching Earth with wind speeds as high as 700
km/s. First contact with the fast-moving gas on Dec. 7th and 8th could
produce G1-class geomagnetic storms and auroras at high latitudes.
The source of this solar wind stream is a
hole in the sun's atmosphere, shown here in a Dec. 5th image from
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory:This is a "coronal hole"--a region where the sun's magnetic field has opened up, allowing solar wind to escape. Because this hole is broad, the emerging stream of solar wind is broad as well. It should influence Earth for several days after it arrives. Free: Aurora Alerts.
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