QUIET WITH A CHANCE OF SOLAR FLARES: Solar activity remains low, but the quiet might be ending soon. A new sunspot developing in the sun's northern hemisphere has an unstable 'beta-gamma' magnetic field that harbors energy for Earth-directed solar flares. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
THAT WAS *NOT* A SPIRAL GALAXY: Spoiler alert: It was SpaceX. "I caught a satellite fuel event this morning (April 21st) high overhead my location," reports Dan Bush of Albany, Missouri. It looked just like a spiral galaxy:
"This event produced a spiral structure that I've seen before, but this was quite small compared to other fuel dumps I've seen," says Bush. "I'm guessing a high orbit."
He guessed right. This was SpaceX launching a GPS III satellite for the US Space Force. Nicknamed "Hedy Lamarr" after the Hollywood actress whose 1941 patent on frequency-hopping technology helped kickstart modern secure radio, the satellite joins a constellation orbiting 20,200 km overhead.
What made the spiral? After the rocket released the satellite into orbit, it had leftover propellant in its tanks. Bush's atomated camera caught SpaceX dumping that fuel from the rocket's slowly-rolling upper stage--a safety measure to prevent accidental explosions. In the near-vacuum of space, the vented propellant expanded into a spiral of frozen droplets and ice crystals.
GPS III is three times more accurate and eight times more jam-resistant than older generation GPS satellites. Bush recorded the launch of the tenth in the series. Previous members have names like Sally Ride, Neil Armstrong and Amelia Earhart, so this is a distinguished series of spacecraft. Even their fuel dumps are magnificent.
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COSMIC CAT WINE STOPPER: You can't buy this on Amazon. Only the Earth to Sky Store has the Cosmic Cat Wine Stopper. On Dec. 17, 2025, this far-out stopper flew to the stratosphere onboard an Earth to Sky Calculus cosmic ray research balloon:
You can have it for $99.95. The wooden cat is hand carved and painted, and it has an airtight rubber seal that securely plugs bottles of wine or any other beverage. With your stopper, you'll receive a gift card showing the cat in flight and telling the story of its journey to the stratosphere (and back again).
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