GLANCING-BLOW CME EXPECTED THIS WEEK: A coronal mass ejection (CME) could graze Earth this week. The CME was hurled into space by an erupting magnetic filament on March 6th, and it is expected to reach our planet on March 10th. Minor G1-class geomagnetic storms are possible if there is a glancing blow. Aurora alerts: SMS Text
CHINA'S SPACE PLANE FLARES: China has quietly launched one of the most mysterious spacecraft currently in orbit: a reusable robotic spaceplane named Shenlong, or "Divine Dragon." On Feb. 7, 2026, the vehicle began its fourth orbital mission--although what that mission is, few people outside of China know.
This weekend, amateur astronomer Felix Schöfbänker caught the furtive spacecraft flying over his backyard observatory in Austria:
No, the Divine Dragon did not explode. Schöfbänker believes this is a bright glint of sunlight (or 'flare') reflected from the spaceplane's solar panel. "A single solar panel is deployed from the cargo bay, similar to the X-37B (the USA's competing spaceplane)," he explains.
This full-sky video shows the flare in context. The spaceplane is still intact after the flare, supporting Schöfbänker's idea that it is simply a glint from a flat surface. Furthermore, still frames show a rectangular object intercepting the sun--again consistent with a solar panel.
Very little is publicly known about the spacecraft itself. Chinese officials describe the flight only as a “technology verification” mission supporting the peaceful use of space, offering no details about the vehicle’s orbit, payload, or mission duration. During earlier missions, tracking networks detected mysterious objects released from the vehicle, possibly experimental subsatellites.
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WHAT ARE THE ODDS? When Nigel Wood set up his solar telescope on March 5th, he wasn't expecting a great photo. Only a few unremarkable sunspots were speckling the solar disk. Then this happened:
"A skydiver dropped directly in front of the sun," he says.
What are the odds? It's impossible to calculate. The sun spans only half a degree of sky, so the alignment had to be brief and precise, but how many parachutists were in the air that afternoon, and what paths they followed no one knows. Improbably, one of them became a man-made sunspot.
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THE BLUE MOON PENDANT: There's Blue Moon coming in May. You can have the Blue Moon Pendant now. The students of Earth to Sky Calculus flew it to the edge of space on Oct 11, 20925, onboard a cosmic ray research balloon:
It's yours for $99.95. The colors of the pendent depict subtle but real colors on the Moon. Blue denotes areas rich in titanium, while orange is titanium poor. Titanium-rich zones are particularly interesting because lunar titanium is bound to oxygen--a key ingredient for life support in lunar greenhouses and spacesuits. The "Mineral Moon" shown on the pendant is a scientifically accurate map of these elements.
The pendant comes with a greeting card showing the Blue Moon in flight, and telling the story of its journey to the top of Earth's atmosphere. It makes a great birthday, anniversary, or (coming soon!) Mother's Day gift.
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