WAITING FOR THE CME: A CME launched by an X1.5-class solar flare on March 30th is overdue. It hasn't yet hit Earth. The longer we wait, the less likely it is to produce a significant geomagnetic storm. Currently, NOAA is predicting a moderate G2-class storm on April 1st, not enough to delay the launch of Artemis II or indeed to affect the mission in any way. CME impact alerts: SMS Text
HOW SOLAR FLARES CAN DIM THE SUN: Solar flares are explosions of electromagnetic radiation that temporarily brighten the sun. However, yesterday's X1.5-class solar flare did the opposite. The explosion caused an area around the blast site to become darker, shown here in an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) movie from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory:
"This is a nice example of 'EUV dimming,'" says Sam Freeland of the Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory, who made the movie. "It happens when an explosion on the sun produces a CME."
Where did all the bright stuff go? It left the sun. Glowing-hot plasma around the exploding sunspot joined a CME (coronal mass ejection) and departed, leaving only darkness behind. Here is what the actual CME looked like.
Space weather forecasters look for EUV dimming immediately after any strong flare to see if a CME might be coming. Hours later, coronagraph images typically confirm their first guess. Darkness tells the tale. CME impact alerts: SMS Text
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THE GEOMETRIC BLACK CAT: This cat will never leave your side. The Geometric Black Cat flew to the edge of space on Oct. 4, 2025, floating 101,875 feet above the Sierra Nevada Mountains of central California:
You can have it for $121.95. Hand-carved from resin, this desktop sculpture loves to hang out on bookcases or computer monitors. It comes with a keepsake card showing the cat at the top of Earth’s atmosphere, and telling the story of its flight to the edge of space onboard a cosmic ray research balloon.
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