MORE SUNSPOTS ARE COMING: Active sunspot complex AR2993-94, which unleashed an X1-flare on April 17th, may be just the beginning. NASA's STEREO-A spacecraft is monitoring another potentially large active region right behind it. Stay tuned for more sunspots emerging over the sun's northeastern limb later today or tomorrow. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
'NIGHT SPIRAL' OVER HAWAII: On Saturday night, April 17th, a luminous spiral spun across the night sky. It was photographed by the "Subaru-Asahi Star Camera" on Mauna Kea:
It looks like a giant galaxy. In fact, it came from SpaceX. Earlier the same day, a Falcon 9 rocket launched from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base carrying a reconnaissance satellite (NROL-85) to orbit. The spiral was the aftermath.
The video "shows the characteristic spiral caused by the post-deorbit-burn fuel vent of the Falcon 9 upper stage, which was deorbitted over the Pacific just after the end of the 1st revolution," explains satellite observer Dr. Marco Langbroek.
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X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE AND CME: Spoiler alert: The CME won't hit Earth. On April 17th, sunspot complex AR2993-94 appeared and promptly exploded. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the X1-class solar flare:
A pulse of X-rays from the flare produced a strong shortwave radio blackout over southeast Asia and Australia: map. Mariners, aviators, and ham radio operators may have noticed unusual propagation effects at frequencies below 30 MHz.
Coronagraph images from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) confirm that the explosion hurled a CME into space: movie. NOAA analysts have modeled the CME's trajectory and determined that it will miss Earth, passing behind our planet in its orbit around the sun.
Above: Active sunspot group AR2993-94 on April 18th. Photo credit: Karzaman Ahmad of the Langkawi National Observatory in Malaysia
Meanwhile, get ready for more flares. This sunspot group has been active for more than a week, hurling CMEs and plumes of plasma into space from its location on the farside of the sun. Now it is turning to face Earth and shows few signs of slowing down. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
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"I LOVE YOU FOREVER" MOONSTONE: Are you looking for a far-out gift? Consider the "I Love You Forever" Moonstone. This one hitched a ride to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research ballooin on March 24, 2022:
You can have it for $152.95. The moonstone's sterling silver infinity wrap is inscribed with the words "I love you forever." It makes a great Mother's Day, anniversary or birthday gift. The moonstone comes with a greeting card showing the pendant in flight, telling the story of its trip to the edge of space and back again.
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