HUMANS TO ORBIT THE POLES: SpaceX is about to launch an historic mission. Later today, March 31st (9:46 pm Eastern Time), 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 Earth's 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. ET.
DID YOU CATCH THE SOLAR ECLIPSE? Wioleta Gorecka did. She took this picture in Iceland during the partial solar eclipse of March 29th:
"The solar eclipse in Iceland reached 86%," says Gorecka. "Since the sun was already high, it was necessary to find the right hill and the right people for special tasks!"
The eclipse was also observed in eastern Canada, Greenland, western Europe and a small fraction of New England. If you have a photo from the eclipse zone, please submit it here.
Realtime Solar Eclipse Photo Gallery
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EARTH JUST DODGED A BIG CME: On March 28th, sunspot 4046 exploded to produce the first X-class solar flare in months. The explosion hurled a significant CME into space--complete with internal plasma bullets:
According to a NASA model, the CME's flank will narrowly miss Earth today. The close encounter might cause a ripple of solar wind to wash over our planet, slightly disturbing the geomagnetic field. A direct hit, on the other hand, could have caused a strong geomagnetic storm with widespread auroras. Maybe next time...
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
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START YOUR CRYSTAL GARDEN FROM SPACE: This sunflower has touched space. The crystal blossom flew to the stratosphere on Feb. 22nd onboard an Earth to Sky Calculus cosmic ray balloon, floating 112,451 feet above the Sierra Nevada mountains of central California:
You can have it for $139.95. The students are selling stratosphere crystals to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. In fact, you can start a whole crystal garden, as more flowers and butterflies are in the launch queue. They make great Mother's Day, anniversary, and birthday gifts. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the flower in flight and telling the story of its journey to the edge of space.
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Realtime Venus Photo Gallery
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Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
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