THE CME HAS ARRIVED: Arriving about 12 hours later than expected, a CME hit Earth's magnetic field on April 1st at 1233 UTC. The relatively weak impact did not cause a geomagnetic storm and should have no effect on the Artemis II mission. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
GODSPEED, ARTEMIS! Admit it. After 50 years, doubts began to creep in. But today NASA proved it still has the Right Stuff with the thrilling and successful launch of the Artemis II Moon rocket. Live coverage is still underway.
Artemis II will propel astronauts to the Moon for the first time since the Apollo era. This diagram shows 15 key stages of the flight:
The astronauts won't land on the Moon this time. Instead, they will fly around the lunar farside in a maneuver reminiscent of Apollo 8 in 1968.
Amateur astronomers may be able to see the Orion crew capsule traveling to and from the Moon. The first three days outbound and the last two days inbound are the window for backyard telescopes. During those times, the crew capsule will range in magnitude from +10 to +15 -- not very bright, but detectable. Click here for a detailed discussion.
Where should you point your optics? The JPL Horizons app can answer that question. Follow these simple instructions to download an ephemeris for the spacecraft.
Bonus: This is very cool. During the mission, you can track the crew capsule in space using the Artemis Realtime Orbit Website.
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
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.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
Realtime Comet Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter