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SpaceX is about to launch an historic mission. Later today, March 31st, four astronauts led by cryptocurrency billionaire Chun Wang will blast off from Cape Canaveral onboard a Falcon 9 rocket for the first-ever crewed spaceflight over the poles. During the 3-to-5 day mission, they will grow mushrooms in space, capture X-ray images of the human body in microgravity, and conduct 20 other science experiments. To watch the launch, tune into SpaceX's live stream starting at 8:46 p.m. Eastern Time.
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Yesterday, the sun surprised forecasters with a dramatic X1.1-class solar flare (March 28th @ 1520 UTC). The explosion caused a shortwave radio blackout over the Americas, and it hurled a massive CME into space. That CME will narrowly miss Earth. The sunspot that caused the flare (AR4046) is now turning toward Earth, so future explosions may be more effective.
https://spaceweather.com/ When the sun rose over Maine this morning, something was missing--about 85% of the sun. A solar eclipse was underway. "We witnessed an amazing 'horns of fire' eclipse," reports Fabrizio Melandri, who sends this picture from Monticello: I had to withstand an air temperature of -10°C (14°F), but it was worth it," says Melandri. "Although the sun was covered for 85%, the sunrise was dazzling. After a few minutes, it was necessary to use a solar filter to protect my eyes from the glare." In New York, the eclipse was not as deep, but the sunrise was equally beautiful. Bob Kelly watched the show from Rye Beach, NY: "The eclipsed sun beamed through some gaps in the cloud cover," says Kelly. "What a morning!"
We are receiving lots of photos from around the eclipse zone. Browse the gallery for the latest. https://spaceweather.com/ Surprising forecasters, today the sun produced a dramatic X1.1-class solar flare (March 28th @ 1520 UTC) with a shortwave radio blackout over the Americas. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory photographed massive plumes of plasma emerging from the blast site: The source of the flare is a new sunspot emerging over the sun's eastern limb. This sunspot will turn toward Earth in the days ahead, putting our planet in the crosshairs of future eruptions. Stay tuned!
https://spaceweather.com/ The New Moon is about to pass in front of the sun, almost completely covering the solar disk on March 29th. The best places to watch this partial eclipse are eastern Canada and Greenland where coverage will exceed 80%: At maximum eclipse around 10:50 UTC, the solar disk will be transformed into a skinny crescent. Some reporters call this a "devil horn eclipse," but the view will be heavenly. If you're in the eclipse zone, check NASA's web page for a city-by-city timetable of when to look. (Be sure to use safe solar filters and/or eclipse glasses.)
Longtime space weather contributor Eliot Herman is in Greenland now, and he will be sending us photos of the event. https://spaceweather.com/ Todd Perelmuter
1,335,042 views Jul 12, 2023 Carrying all of life on our shoulders is too much to bear for any of us. But each of us can rise to meet this moment, right here, right now. With each inhale, we can welcome each new moment. With each exhale, we can let it go. At times, our lives can feel dark and chaotic. It can feel like nothing goes right and that we are cursed. But the dark times are nothing more than little dots peppered onto the vast timeline of our lives. The dots don't take up much space, but they can cast large shadows. The deeper we can live each moment, the more joy and peace we can invite into our lives. It doesn't matter what happened yesterday. It doesn't matter what will happen tomorrow. We are not our mistakes, nor are we our successes. We are this one, eternal, priceless moment. The more we take care of this moment with mindful awareness, the more we tend to it with care and love, the more our lives can blossom. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HO3ovPHEY7c Most bolts of lightning go down toward the Earth. But, sometimes, they go in the other direction, too. On Nov. 19, 2024, astronauts onboard the ISS watched a Gigantic Jet rocket up from the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America): Puerto Rican sprite chaser Frankie Lucena noticed the rare bolt while he was browsing NASA's Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. "I checked the ISS database for pictures before and after the event, and found that there were 4 photos in all," says Lucena. "I've animated them here."
Sometimes called "Earth's tallest lightning," because they reach the ionosphere more than 50 miles high, Gigantic Jets were discovered near Taiwan and Puerto Rico in 2001-2002. Since then, only dozens have been photographed. They seem to love storms over water and are famous for surprising passengers onboard commercial aircraft. The nature of gigantic jets and their possible association with other types of Transient Luminous Events (TLEs) such as blue jets and red sprites remains an active topic of research. https://spaceweather.com/ What goes up, must come down--which could be a problem when you're launching thousands of satellites. Since 2018, SpaceX has placed more than 7,000 Starlink satellites into Earth orbit, and now they are starting to come down. In January alone, more than 120 Starlinks deorbited, creating a shower of fireballs."The sustained rate of daily reentries is unprecedented," says Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard Center for Astrophysics who tracks satellites. "They are retiring and incinerating about 4 or 5 Starlinks every day." Planners have long known this would happen. First generation (Gen1) Starlink satellites are being retired to make way for newer models. "More than 500 of the 4700 Gen1 Starlinks have now reentered," says McDowell. When Starlinks reenter, they disintegrate before hitting the ground, adding metallic vapors to the atmosphere. A study published in 2023 found evidence of the lingering devris. In February 2023, NASA flew a WB-57 aircraft 60,000 feet over Alaska to collect aerosols. 10% of the particles contained aluminum and other metals from the "burn-up" of satellites. Right: NASA's WB-57 high altitude airplane. [more] What we're observing is a giant uncontrolled experiment in atmospheric chemistry. The demise of just one Gen1 Starlink satellite produces about 30 kilograms (66 pounds) of aluminum oxide, a compound that eats away at the ozone layer. A new study finds these oxides have increased 8-fold between 2016 and 2022, and the recent surge is increasing the pollution even more.
On the bright side, each reentry produces a beautiful fireball--and the odds are increasing that you'll see one. Visit the Aerospace Corporation for reentry predictions. https://spaceweather.com/ Something interesting is happening in the polar stratosphere. A 40-year cold spell is underway, and the temperature continues to drop. We know its cold because the stratosphere is starting to fill with colorful clouds. They look like this: These are Type II polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) photographed by Per Steinar Prøven of Brumunddal, Norway. "We have been seeing them day and night," he says.
Polar stratospheric clouds are rare. Normally, the stratosphere has no clouds at all. When the temperature drops to -85 C (188 K), however, water molecules can get together to form ice crystals even in the very dry stratosphere. High-altitude sunlight touching those crystals creates a blossom of pastel color. According to NASA's MERRA2 climate model, temperatures in the polar stratosphere are about to drop to their lowest levels since before 1978. This could cause a major outbreak of polar stratospheric clouds, visible around the Arctic Circle and beyond. https://spaceweather.com/ An S1-class solar radiation storm is in progress on Jan. 5th. This means energetic protons from the sun are raining down on Earth. Their ionizing effect on the atmosphere is causing a polar cap absorption event (PCA). Shortwave radios inside the Arctic and Antarctic Circles won't work as well as usual until the PCA subsides.
https://spaceweather.com/ Sunspot AR3947 is sizzling with activity. Since Friday it has produced three X-class solar flares and multiple strong M-flares. NOAA's GOES-16 satellite recorded the extreme ultraviolet and X-ray flashes: Each flare has produced a shortwave radio blackout on Earth. Almost all longitudes of our planet have experienced intermittent loss of signal below 20 MHz during local daylight hours. Because of these flares, long-distance propagation has been unreliable.
Remarkably, no significant CMEs have emerged. These explosions have not lifted much material out of the sun's atmosphere. Future blasts may behave differently, however, and the activity shows no sign of abating as the sunspot turns toward Earth. Stay tuned! https://spaceweather.com/ As we peel away the layers of societal conditioning, a profound clarity emerges that can make the familiar seem strange and new. Our journey toward authentic self-discovery often reveals how much our "normal" world is built on illusions and shared assumptions. In embracing our truest nature, we begin to see through the matrix of social constructs, marketing narratives and cultural programming that once felt so solid and real. Though sometimes unsettling, this awakening is the doorway to genuine freedom and conscious living.
The first of two CMEs heading toward Earth has just arrived. It passed NOAA's DSCOVR at 1600 UTC and reached our planet about 40 minutes later. The impact could spark minor (G1) to strong (G3) geomagnetic storms in the hours ahead. If a strong storm materializes, Northern Lights could descend to mid-latitudes in the USA and Europe, competing with fireworks displays to start the New Year.
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