[South Florida DX Association] Space Weather News for Dec. 13, 2006

[Bill Marx]

Space Weather News for Dec. 13, 2006

X-FLARE: Sunspot 930 erupted again this morning, producing a strong X3-class 
solar flare. The blast triggered an ongoing radiation storm and probably 
hurled a coronal mass ejection (CME) toward Earth. Auroras are possible when 
the CME arrives on Dec. 14th or 15th.

Note: The radiation storm mentioned above is of moderate intensity and, 
unless it strengthens greatly, poses no threat to astronauts orbiting Earth 
onboard the International Space Station or the space shuttle.  The 
astronauts are protected by the walls of their spacecraft as well as by 
Earth's magnetic field.

GEMINID METEORS:  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.