Eye's on the Skies Dec. 7th

PLANETARY ALIGNMENT: Finally, a good reason to wake up early: Jupiter, Mercury and Mars are converging to form a tight triangle in the morning sky. Look for them, low in the east, beaming through the rosy glow of dawn on Dec. 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th.

ANGRY SUNSPOT: Radio astronomer Thomas Ashcraft knew something was up yesterday when a loud roar came out of the loudspeaker of his 22 MHz shortwave receiver in New Mexico: Sunspot 930 had exploded again. The X6-class flare sent shock waves billowing through the sun's atmosphere, producing among other things a Type II solar radio burst: listen.