| | December 19 New Kind of Sun Explosion | | | |
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| | The sun on May 3, 2012. The inset shows a close-up of the new kind of magnetic explosion, recently studied with the aid of NASA's SDO spacecraft. Image via SDO/ Abhishek Srivastava/ IIT(BHU). | | |
| Scientists identify a new kind of explosion on the sun | | NASA said this week that its Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) observed a kind of magnetic explosion on the sun that scientists had never seen before. The spacecraft spied the explosion when a prominence - a large loop of material launched by an eruption on the sun's surface - started falling back to the surface. Before it reached the surface, the prominence ran into a snarl of magnetic field lines, sparking the explosion. Watch a beautiful video. | | | December solstice is coming | | December solstice 2019 arrives on December 22 at 04:19 UTC. That’s December 21 for much of North America. High summer for the Southern Hemisphere. For the Northern Hemisphere, the return of more sunlight! Read more. What does the solstice mean to you? Submit your personal solstice images to EarthSky Community Photos. | | | | | | |
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| | | Look for Mirfak, Perseus’ brightest star | Mirfak isn't as famous as Algol, its brother star in the constellation Perseus. But Mirfak is easier to find and can help guide you to Algol. Read more. | | | | |
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| | Cactus lights | View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Leslie Fay took this photo at the Ethel M candy factory in Henderson, Nevada,, on December 12. She wrote: “Moon with contrails over the beautifully decorated cactus gardens.” See more seasonal images from our community, and share your image here. Thanks to all! | | |