A NEW STUDY OF LAST YEAR'S GROUND LEVEL EVENT: On Nov. 11, 2025, an X5-class solar flare triggered the strongest Ground Level Enhancement (GLE) in 25 years. A new study just published in Space Weather takes a closer look. Japanese researchers found that unusually hard protons rained down in three distinct pulses over 16 hours. During one pulse, dose rates at the highest aviation altitudes approached 80 μSv/h, which is considered Severe by the International Civil Aviation Organization. Fortunately, the elevated period was brief (~10 minutes) so no flights had to be diverted. Free: Space Weather Newsletter
MAY IS THE MONTH OF MOONLIGHT: Most months have just one full Moon. This month, however, there will be two. Giovanni Passalacqua photographed the first full Moon this morning from Ispica, Italy (Sicily):
"The Moon was perfectly aligned with the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore," says Passalacqua. "This was a carefully planned shot!"
According to folklore, this is the "Full Flower Moon" named after the abundant blooms of northern spring. The next full Moon on May 31st will be a rare "Blue Moon" -- the second full Moon in a calendar month. Stay tuned for a lot of May moonlight.
more images: from Horst Peter Franzen of Mehren, Germany; from Charles Chiofar of Buckley, Washington;
COMET PANSTARRS IS BACK: The last time we saw Comet PanSTARRS (C/2025 R3), it was passing through SOHO coronagraphs, too close to the sun to view with human eyes. The comet survived. Renato Sfalsin Passos photographed it last night in the evening twilight of Espírito Santo, Brazil:
"Although the skies were unfavorable, many clouds in the west, we were able to find the comet about 10 degrees above the western horizon," says Passos, who took the picture with colleagues Claudia M. Musso and Guilherme Musso. "This is a stack of 21x1.6 second exposures taken with a Nikon D5100 camera."
The comet is currently shining like a 4th magnitude star--borderline-bright for human eyes to pick out of the twilight, but an easy target for cameras and small telescopes. Southern-hemisphere observers are favored as the comet is gliding through the constellation Eridanus. Point your optics here.
more images: from Minoru Yoneto of Queenstown, New Zealand
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
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FORGET-ME-NOT PHOTO LOCKET: It's a great gift for Mother's Day: The Forget-Me-Not Photo Locket. The students of Earth to sky Calculus launched it to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon:
You can have it for $169.95. Filled with real pressed forget-me-not and white lace flowers, the locket opens to hold a small photo close to your heart. You will also receive a greeting card showing the locket in flight and telling the story of its journey to the stratosphere and back again.
The students of Earth to Sky Calculus are selling Mother's Day Gifts from space to pay the helium bill for their cosmic ray ballooning program. Shop now!
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
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