ANOTHER FARSIDE EXPLOSION: Another magnificent halo CME left the farside of the sun on Dec. 17th. Watch the movie. This is fourth farside CME of the past 10 days, signaling a very active sunspot hidden from view. The sun's rotation will turn the active region toward Earth next week. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text

CHINA'S NEW MEGACONSTELLATION: Elon Musk has competition. Its name is "China." This past Monday, Dec. 16th, the China Satellite Network Group Co., Ltd., launched the first group of satellites for China's new Guowang megaconstellation. Daniel Parrott watched them deploying to orbit over Oklahoma:

"I was able to capture images of the deployment and counted 10 spacecraft," says Parrott.

Guowang is a Chinese initiative to compete with Starlink. Officials say that almost 13,000 satellites are planned for the network, with at least half launching before 2032. The role of Starlink in the Ukraine war caught the attention of Chinese military analysts, and they are determined to control their own satellite network to avoid dependence on foreign powers.

This is actually China's second megaconstellation of 2024. On Aug. 6th, China launched the first 18 satellites of its new Thousand Sails network, with subsequent launches boosting the total to 54. For comparison, Starlink currently has about 7,000 satellites, so China still has a long way to go.

Liftoff of the Long March 5B carrying the first group of Guowang satellites. Credit: Ourspace