Another round of solar storms expected to blast Earth. A stream of solar wind is heading for Earth, and it should arrive before New Year's Eve. The wind is flowing from a coronal hole (CH) in the sun's atmosphere.
The action begins during the late hours of Dec. 30th when a co-rotating interaction region (CIR) is expected to hit Earth's magnetic field.
CIRs are transition zones between slow-and fast-moving solar wind streams. Solar wind plasma piles up in these regions, producing density gradients and shock waves that do a good job of sparking auroras.
After the CIR arrives, a stream of fast-moving (600 km/s) solar wind will follow. The combined effect could produce G1-class geomagnetic storms and bright Arctic auroras on Dec. 30-31.
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