CHANCE OF STORMS: NOAA forecasters estimate a 10% to 20% chance of polar geomagnetic storms on Dec. 24th in response to a CIR or "corotating interaction region." A CIR is a boundary between fast- and slow-moving streams in the solar wind. Crossing a CIR, as Earth will do on Christmas Eve, can spark magnetic storms and auroras.

FARSIDE ERUPTION: No strong flares have issued from the sun in weeks, but solar activity might not be as low as it seems. The farside of the sun is increasingly restless. On Dec. 21st, multiple CMEs flew over the edge of the solar disk, and today NASA's STEREO-A spacecraft observed a filament erupting on the farside.
[link to spaceweather.com]
This activity suggests that the long-term forecast could be stormy. In one to two weeks, active regions currently on the farside will turn toward Earth, possibly sending some flares and CMEs our way.

Co-rotating Interaction Regions: interactions between fast and slow streams
[link to www.physics.usyd.edu.au]


Near Earth Asteroids has 2012 XM55 3 LD mass distance 12 m size.
[link to ssd.jpl.nasa.gov]

[link to spaceweather.com]