ARCTIC CHRISTMAS LIGHTS: A minor CME left the sun on Dec. 21st. Forecast models show it could strike Earth on Christmas Eve. The CME is not potent enough to spark a full-fledged geomagnetic storm, but it could fill the Arctic Circle with auroras on Dec. 25th. CME impact alerts: SMS Text

BIG SUNSPOTS TURN TOWARD EARTH: After weeks of relatively low sunspot number, the sun is reminding us that Solar Max is far from over. Three large sunspot groups are turning toward Earth:

This Dec. 22nd picture, taken by Juergen Banisch of Gaukoenigshofen, Germany, shows more than two dozen dark cores turning toward Earth. The complex sprawls across more than 450,000 km of the sun's surface, making it an easy target for backyard solar telescopes and even simple solar projectors. 

But will they flare? Big sunspots usually do. So far, however, these sunspots have produced nothing more potent than low-level M1-class events. It could be the calm before the storm. CME impact alerts: SMS Text