SpaceX launches Starlink satellites west coast & Sun mirrors itself with prominence jets - Space News (Mar 1, 2026)

Let's start with what happened in the pre-dawn hours this morning. SpaceX launched another batch of Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 2:10 AM Pacific time, carrying 25 Starlink V2 Mini satellites toward low Earth orbit. What's particularly noteworthy here is that this booster, known as B1082, has now completed its 20th flight. That's right—the same rocket engine that launched critical military missions and resupply cargo is now routinely hauling internet satellites to the sky. The booster landed safely on the droneship in the Pacific, and the satellites reached their target orbit about an hour after launch. For those keeping track, SpaceX aims to launch another Starlink batch tomorrow morning from Florida.

Now, speaking of remarkable recycling efforts, let's talk about what the sun has been up to. Solar activity took an interesting turn over the past day. Scientists observed something unusual happening on our star. A prominence—that's a large loop of hot plasma—erupted from the sun's far side on February 27. But here's where it gets interesting. The next day, the sun's visible side responded with a powerful jet on the opposite side. It's almost like the sun is mirroring itself. Experts describe this as an unusual pattern, but it demonstrates just how interconnected the sun's magnetic systems really are. Today, March 1st, the sun produced 17 solar flares, all of them relatively modest C-class events. Still, this elevated activity means geomagnetic conditions on Earth could remain unsettled over the next couple of days.

If you've got a telescope handy and clear skies tonight, here's your final chance to catch Saturn in the evening. The ringed giant is sinking lower toward the western horizon, currently sitting just seven degrees above the horizon at an hour after sunset. Through a telescope, you're looking at those iconic rings stretching about 36 arcseconds from end to end. The planet's disk spans about 16 arcseconds, and if you're lucky, you might spot Titan, its largest moon, positioned about 2.5 arcminutes to the west. Venus and Mercury have already set by this hour, but Saturn remains the brightest light in the western evening sky. After tonight, Saturn moves into conjunction with the sun and will disappear from evening viewing for several weeks.

Looking ahead just two days, we're in for a celestial treat. March 3rd brings a total lunar eclipse—what's often called a blood moon. The moon will enter Earth's shadow in the early morning hours, and those in North America will have excellent viewing opportunities. Totality begins at 6:04 AM Eastern time and lasts about 58 minutes. The entire moon should turn a striking coppery red as sunlight filters through Earth's atmosphere and casts shadows on the lunar surface. This is the last total lunar eclipse visible from Earth until the very end of 2028, so it's definitely worth setting an alarm for. The best views from the continental United States will be from the Mountain and Pacific time zones, where the eclipse happens in a dark sky.