SOMETHING FLARE-Y THIS WAY COMES: An active sunspot is hiding behind the sun's eastern limb, and it is about to turn toward Earth. A dramatic M2-class solar flare heralded its approach on May 7th:
The flare was partially eclipsed by the edge of he sun, so the true intensity was probably much higher than M2. In the past few days, at least 5 CMEs have emerged from this farside active region. Earth could enter the line of fire later this weekend. Stay tuned! Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
THE TANGLED TAIL OF AN OORT CLOUD COMET: After passing by the sun in late April, Comet PanSTARRS (C/2025 R3) is returning to the night sky in the southern hemisphere. The tail is amazing:
Click here to see the entire comet
Gerald Rhemann and Michael Jäger took this picture on May 3rd using a telescope at Farm Tivoli, Namibia. Their 30-minute exposure captured swirls, eddies and vortices traveling down the comet's tangled tail. These structures are a sign of space weather--gusts of solar wind and CMEs deflecting the comet's gaseous outflow.
"Activity in this comet is intense," reports Daniele Gasparri of Atacama, Chile, who photographed the changes from May 2nd through 6th:
"Overall the comet is in great shape," he says. "Thanks to the lack of evening moonlight and its increasing altitude above the horizon, the comet appears brighter (currently magnitude +5.5) and more detailed each night," he says. "I hope to continue following its evolution in the coming days."
Follow it now because the comet will not be back. Comet PanSTARRS comes from the Oort Cloud. It took more than 50,000 years to fall into the inner solar system, and now it is on a slingshot trajectory out of the Solar System. Southern observers, point your optics here.
more images: from Marco Nero of Katoomba, NSW, Australia; from Dominique Dierick of Lochristi, Belgium; from Ian Law of Brisbane, Australia;
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MOTHER'S DAY IS THIS SUNDAY: Are you looking for an out-of-this world Mother's Day gift? Consider this: Every time the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launch a cosmic ray balloon, they include something extra in the payload--something Mom will love:
Every item in the Earth to Sky Store has flown to the edge of space and comes with a greeting card showing the item in flight. The interior of the card tells the story of the gift's journey from launch to landing. Mom-satisfaction guaranteed!
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
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