Geminid Meteor Shower

[+Malamute]

 Just posting because people say they like to know.

 

http://spaceweather.com/

 

GEMINID METEOR SHOWER: Geminid meteor activity is picking up as Earth moves deeper into the debris stream of rock comet 3200 Phaethon. During the past 48 hours, NASA's network of all-sky cameras have detected 40 Geminid fireballs over the USA. Last night, this one disintegrated inside a Moon halo over the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona:  video at site

 

Geminids  range  in  brightness  from  nearly-invisible specks to shadow-casting fireballs. In recent nights, lunar glare has interfered with the visibility of fainter meteors. This will change over the weekend as the Moon wanes and Earth moves even deeper into the Geminid debris stream. Forecasters expect the shower to peak on Dec. 13-14 with as many as 120 meteors per hour. Wherever you live, the best time to look is during the hours between midnight and dawn on Saturday and Sunday.

[+Malamute]

THE NITROGEN FRINGE: On Dec. 9th, aurora tour guide Chad Blakley of Sweden's Abisko National Park was warming up inside a Sami hut, when he looked through the door and noticed the snow turning green. "I rushed outside," he says, "and discovered one of the most beautiful aurora displays I had ever seen dancing overhead." In addition to green, there was a rare and remarkable fringe of pink:

 

It was the "nitrogen fringe." Most auroras are green--a verdant glow caused by energetic particles from space hitting oxygen atoms 100 km to 300 km above Earth's surface. Seldom-seen pink appears when the energetic particles descend lower than usual, striking nitrogen molecules at the 100 km level and below.

"For almost five minutes, fast-moving pink auroras streaked across the sky," says Blakley. "I have been photographing the Northern Lights for years, and I can honestly say that this was the brightest pink aurora I have ever seen." Using two cameras, he recorded a pair of must-see videos:

 

Aurora Borealis in Abisko National Park, Sweden December 9th, 2014

 

http://vimeo.com/114128866  video part 1

 

http://vimeo.com/114237608 part 2

 

Arctic sky watchers should be alert for more pink in the nights ahead. NOAA forecasters estimate a 55% chance of polar geomagnetic storms on Dec. 13-14 as a solar wind stream buffets Earth's magnetic field.

[AbominableDro-Man]

Well I know what I'll be doing on the 13th-14th. That's going to be an amazing sight.

Edited December 12, 2014 by AbominableDro-Man

[imiubu]

Thanks Mal!