THIS IS NO LAUGHING MATTER: There is a smiley face on the sun today. Take a look. Formed by holes in the sun's atmosphere, the cheerful mein is spewing a complex stream of solar wind toward Earth. First contact, with auroras, could occur on Oct. 28th or 29th. Aurora alerts: SMS Text

PARTIAL SOLAR ECLIPSE: Yesterday, Oct. 25th, astronomers from Europe to India watched the Moon take a bite out of the sun -- and more. "The Moon also swallowed a big prominence!" says Thierry Legault, who photographed the eclipse from Paris, France:

Zooming into Legault's photo reveals something interesting. The curving edge of the Moon is not smooth; it is modulated by lunar mountains. Astronomers saw them from Italy and Spain as well.

Elsewhere in France, Nicolas Lefaudeux did something that no astrophotographer has done before. He photographed Venus and the partially eclipsed sun at the same time. The trick was scraping away some of the solar filter, allowing Venus to shine through:

"During the eclipse, Venus was nearby, hidden in the sun's glare," says Lefaudeux. "To capture both the eclipse and Venus, I used a special filter located near the camera, with its reflective coating removed on a circular area. This gave an unfiltered view of Venus while simultaneously providing the required filtration for the eclipse."

Got a picture of the eclipse? Submit it here.

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AMBER BUMBLEBEE SPACE PENDANT: Bumblebees don't usually fly so high. On Oct 15, 2022, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched this one to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon. Here it is floating 115,158 feet above California's Sierra Nevada:

You can have it for $159.95. This bee is made of genuine Baltic Amber with a sterling silver exoskeleton. The rich Cognac-colored pendant measures 3/4 inch and comes with a matching 18-inch sterling silver chain.

The students are selling these unique pendants to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the bumblebee in flight and telling the story of its trip to the stratosphere and back again.

Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education

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