March 11 Star Travel, Sun News

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March 11
Star Travel, 
Sun News






Artist’s concept of a starship - called the Starshot Lightsail - accelerating away from Earth. The craft uses an Earth-based laser array to get up enough speed to travel to the next-nearest star. Image via Masumi Shibata/ courtesy of Breakthrough Initiatives/ Penn Engineering.



New solar sail may travel to Alpha Centauri


Outer space is big. Really, really, really big. And that’s why NASA has no plans at present to send a spacecraft to any of the several thousand known planets beyond our solar system. But, if we were to plan a trip, Alpha Centauri is an obvious target. It’s the nearest star system to our sun at 4.3 light-years away. How soon could we reach Alpha Centauri? Could we reach any of the nearest stars, in a reasonable amount of time? A new and more durable solar sail spacecraft might be part of the answer.


Sun news: CME headed our way, due March 13


A coronal mass ejection (CME) that left the sun on Monday sideswiped Earth yesterday, creating an auroral display at high latitudes. Then on March 10, a long-lasting solar flare took place near the large sunspot region AR2960. It also produced a CME, and this one is due to strike Earth more directly on Sunday, March 13. Sun news here.


The Beehive Cluster: A swarm of 1,000 stars

Although it's one of the 12 zodiac constellations, Cancer the Crab is so faint that you'd likely never notice it ... except for the lovely star cluster in its midst. This cluster is commonly known as the Beehive. It's a wonderful swarm of stars, glimpsed with the eye alone in a dark location. Although the eye can't detect them all, this cluster contains a thousand stars. Read about the Beehive.








Defy the cold and go outdoors to stargaze during spring with an EarthSky moon beanie. ✨❄️ They sell out quickly, so order yours before it's too late!






Tonight! The moon nears Castor and Pollux

The waxing gibbous moon is in Gemini, creeping toward Castor and Pollux. By tomorrow night the 3 will form a tight triangle. Read more.






Supernova discovery by EarthSky Community member

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Amateur astronomer Filipp Romanov discovered his first supernova on February 20 of this year. The supernova has been confirmed by professional astronomers. Here's the story of Filipp's discovery in his own words. Congratulations from all of us at EarthSky, Filipp!

 

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