Winter Solstice

The winter solstice occurred yesterday afternoon at 4:03 pm MST and "winter" officially began. The most important thing for many of us is that days will now slowly become longer. This winter season begins with solar storms and a seemingly very angry and active sun, as per image below.

Details re this image at  -  http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/goes-solar-x-ray-imager-sxi

Latest Alert message:

Space Weather Message Code: ALTK05
Serial Number: 762
Issue Time: 2014 Dec 22 0245 UTC

ALERT: Geomagnetic K-index of 5
Threshold Reached: 2014 Dec 22 0245 UTC
Synoptic Period: 0000-0300 UTC
 
Active Warning: Yes
NOAA Scale: G1 - Minor

NOAA Space Weather Scale descriptions can be found at
www.swpc.noaa.gov/noaa-scales-explanation

Potential Impacts: Area of impact primarily poleward of 60 degrees Geomagnetic Latitude.
Induced Currents - Weak power grid fluctuations can occur.
Spacecraft - Minor impact on satellite operations possible.
Aurora - Aurora may be visible at high latitudes, i.e., northern tier of the U.S. such as northern Michigan and Maine.