ENTERING THE SOLAR WIND STREAM: Later today, Dec.20th, Earth is expected to enter a stream of solar wind flowing at high speed from a large hole in the sun’s atmosphere. This could set in motion days of magnetic unrest around the poles. NOAA forecasters estimate a 60% chance of minor G1-class geomagnetic storms on Dec. 21st, increasing to 65% on Dec. 22nd. Stay tuned for Arctic auroras.
ARCTIC LIGHT SHOW: What do you get when you mix moonlight, fog, and solar wind near the Arctic Circle? Photographer Göran Strand of Östersund, Sweden, provides the answer: “A lunar fogbow backlit by Northern Lights.”
Strand took this picture on Dec.17th from the shore of Lake Storsjön, the 5th largest body of water in Sweden. A layer of fog hovering above the lake’s surface intercepted rays of moonlight to form a lovely fogbow.
“Fogbows have been on my bucket list for quite some time,” says Strand. “I’ve seen photos of them, but I’ve never seen one in real life until now.”
Fogbows are close cousins of rainbows and they are formed in essentially the same way: light bounces in and out of water droplets to produce a luminous arc. The background glow of green auroras was caused by a minor stream of solar wind, which buffeted Earth’s magnetic field over the weekend.
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