A HOLE IN THE SUN'S ATMOSPHERE: A large hole has opened in the sun's atmosphere and it is turning toward Earth. Solar wind emerging from this coronal hole should reach our planet on April 19-20, potentially sparking G1-class geomagnetic storms. Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
INTRODUCING CARROLL CRATER: Until last week, no one had ever heard of Carroll Crater--then Artemis II swung around the Moon. On April 6th, the crew sent a transmission to Earth proposing that a previously unnamed crater would henceforth be known as "Carroll," after Commander Reid Wiseman's wife Carroll Taylor Wiseman, who died in 2020. Here it is, not far from Einstein:
Astrophotographer Dennis Simmons of Brisbane, Australia, took this picture on April 13th and labeled Carroll so we could find it. It's not easy because the crater is located at the farside-nearside boundary. Only occasionally is it tipped toward Earth by lunar libration.
April 13th was such an occasion. " I set the alarm for 3:00am and set up the gear in our back garden, waiting for the Moon to clear the tree line," says Simmons. "This would give the C11 some time to cool down, ready for when the Moon cleared the trees."
Carroll is a bright crater, and this means it is relatively young. Fresh impacts expose unweathered material from beneath the Moon's surface. Over time, the solar wind and micrometeorite impacts darken lunar regolith, so newly excavated debris stands out with higher reflectivity.
The International Astronomical Union still has to officially approve the crew's suggested name, but who are we kidding? It's Carroll.
more images: from Patricio Leon of Santiago, Chile; from Alex Krivenyshev of New York City, NY
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PREMIUM ITEM--THE WROUGHT IRON SPACE ROSE: Mother's Day is coming soon. Give mom a premium gift that never wilts or dies: The Wrought Iron Space Rose. On Feb. 1, 2026, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched the metal bloom to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon:
You can have it for $197.95. This is a premium item. The rose was forged by hand from iron, the element created in supernova explosions--so this rose is genuine "star stuff." Buy this rose and you will also receive a greeting card showing the bloom in flight and telling the story of its journey to the stratosphere and back again.
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