Space Weather News for Dec. 31, 2009

SUNSPOT SURGE:
2009 is ending with a flurry of sunspots. The month of December has had more "spotted days" than any previous month of the year by a significant margin, and all of the month's sunspot groups have been members of new Solar Cycle 24.

Could this herald an end to the deepest solar minimum in nearly a century? That remains to be seen. Sunspot counts and trends are shown on today's edition of http://spaceweather.com.

SOMETHING NEW:
Turn your iPhone or iPod Touch into a field-tested satellite tracker! Spaceweather.com presents the Satellite Flybys app: http://simpleflybys.com

BLUE MOON ECLIPSE:
For the first time in almost 20 years, there's going to be a "Blue Moon" on New Year's Eve. In Europe, sky watchers will witness an even rarer event--an eclipse of a Blue Moon on New Year's Eve. What are the odds?
Probabilities and observing tips may be found at http://spaceweather.com.

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