A coronal mass ejection that left the Sun on Monday is likelyto buffet Earth’s magnetosphere later this week. Forecasters estimate a 20% chance of severe geomagnetic activity when the CME arrives. Auroras are possible early Thursday and Friday mornings.
A near-Earth asteroid, 2000 YA, has just been detected and will pass within two lunar distances of Earth on Dec. 22nd. There’s no danger of a collision, say scientists, but the small space rock will be near enough to see through large amateur telescopes or through small telescopes equipped with CCD cameras.
A massive increase in near-Earth asteroid discoveries has taken place in the past year. In part, this is due to discovery initiatives, but the number of such objects also appears to have increased substantially.
For more information, images and animations about the current CME and near-Earth asteroid discovery, please visit click here.
To view the near-Earth asteroid database, click here. To view the above chart in detail, click on “Discovery Statistics of All NEAs” on the NEA Database homepage.
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