THE SUN IS WAKING UP (PLUS A COMET): After weeks of quiet, the sun is waking up again. The action began during the early hours of April 23rd with a double M1-class solar flare: movie. It was a "sympathetic flare" caused by magnetic teleconections between two widely-spaced sunspots (4419 and 4420). These sunspots have since produced additional M-class flares including M4 and M5 category events.
The double-flare launched a CME into space. SOHO coronagraphs saw that and more. Comet PanSTARRS (C/2025 R3) is also entering the field of view:
The comet will be visible to SOHO for the next few days as it passes almost directly between Earth and the sun. It could be a good show, and we will update our movie frequently.
Meanwhile, the CME shown above is not squarely aimed at Earth, but it might hit anyway. A NASA model suggests it will deliver a glancing blow on April 26th. This could spark a G1-class geomagnetic storm with auroras at high latitudes. CME impact alerts: SMS Text
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SILVER SAPPHIRE SPACE PENDANT: It has just returned from the edge of space: The Silver Sapphire Space Pendant. Using a cosmic ray research balloon, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched it to the stratosphere above the Sierra Nevada mountains of central California:
You can have it for $219.95. Engraved with the words "I love you always and forever", this sterling silver pendant has a heart-shaped sapphire in the middle surrouunded by a ring of glittering 5A cubic zirconia nuggets. It is a visually striking necklace perfect for anniversaries and romantic birthdays.
The students are selling space pendants to pay the helium bill for their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the jewelry in flight and telling the story of its trip to the stratosphere and back again.
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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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