5 possible successors to the International Space Station

Auroras, or the northern and southern lights, have long been heralded as signs and omens. To the Greeks and some Aboriginal Australians, they are gods and goddesses who race across the sky. The Cree believe these are messages from the dearly departed. Some Chinese legends associate them with dragons. Now they are also a sign of the space race.

As rockets accelerate their way into space, they are punch holes in the ionosphere, the upper layer of the earth’s atmosphere. This does not cause the sky to fall, but it does cause “bleeding” auroras.

At about 150 miles up, the exhaust from a rocket’s second stage (which is mostly carbon dioxide and water vapor) interacts with molecules already there. This forms the red glow of an artificial aurora and creates a temporary hole in the atmosphere. Before you start worrying—no, these effects do not pose a risk to human health. However, they have been noted to briefly disrupt HAM radio signals and GPS.

The most recent sighting was in November, when SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch a crimson artificial aurora visible in Texas. This aurora formed when the Falcon 9 burned its rockets on reentry. These auroras are smaller and more spherical than those made when a rocket takes off.

Some have dubbed these new artificial auroras “SpaceX auroras.” While the company created the biggest of these auroras (and perhaps most) it is not the only culprit. The US space force’s Victus Nox created an ionospheric hole in September. (Its cousin department, the US Air Force, has the first known one in it 2005 with his Titan rocket.)

These auroras and holes are expected to increase with increased rocket traffic, and astronomers are interested. In addition to helping us learn about their effects, these auroras can also provide clues about the nature of true auroras and the complicated dynamics of the ionosphere, which are notoriously difficult to study.

“The frequency of these red clouds may increase as SpaceX targets more launches in the future,” Stephen Hummel, Dark Skies Sr. Outreach Program Coordinator at McDonald Observatory, said in a statement. “Their impact on astronomical science is still being evaluated. Starlink satellites are a known issue, but the effects of the rocket launches themselves are a growing area of ​​attention.”

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IMAGE INTERRUPTION

As solar maximum—the peak of the Sun’s 11-year activity cycle—approaches, auroras (the real ones, not the rocket-made ones) become more frequent. This week saw several beautiful displays, including this one in Wisconsin.

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SPACE SPACE

South Korea has its first spy satellite. The launch comes less than two weeks after North Korea’s own.

Sir Richard Branson is done invest in Virgin Galactic. The announcement did refueled the share price.

Shanghai wants to become a space center. The government invests in silk aviation sector hoping to build and launch rockets and satellites.

SpaceX takes a competitor’s satellites to space. Elon Musk’s company will launch Amazon’s Project Kuiper internet satellites in 2025.

The Hubble Space Telescope broke down. NASA is working to fix one of the telescope’s three gyroscopes, which has failed.

This week’s Space Business newsletter is written by science writer and photographer Mara Johnson-Grohand edited by Heather Landy.

Last week: Life after the ISS

This was issue 206 of our newsletter. Submit aurora sightings, tips and informed opinions praat@qz.com.