Spaceship Spotting Marathon

This is a good month for spaceship spotting. On May 1st, the International Space Station (ISS) begins a 4-week series of bright flybys over North America and Europe.

In early May, the ISS joins Jupiter and the stars of the Summer Triangle in a glittering pre-dawn sky. Later in the month, increasingly-frequent flybys shift to evening hours and the ISS will be crossing paths with Saturn, the Moon and Mars.

US and Canadian readers, check our Simple Satellite Flybys tool to find out when to look: http://spaceweather.com/flybys. (European readers, an international version of the flybys tool will be available in the near future. Stay tuned.)

EXPLORE THE IONOSPHERE
The ionosphere is our planet's "final frontier." A realm of dancing auroras, radio-bending plasma bubbles and dangerous ultraviolet rays, it is the last wisp of Earth's atmosphere that astronauts leave behind when they enter space.

Now you can explore the ionosphere from the safety of your own home. Yesterday, NASA-supported researchers unveiled a "4D" computer model for the general public. Download a few files and presto--you're flying through the ionosphere.

The model shows the ionosphere as it is right now; it's a real-time display based on current solar activity and atmospheric conditions.

Visit http://spaceweather.com to get started.