An erupting filament of magnetism near the sun's north pole propelled the CME into space just as the Seven Sisters were passing by. SOHO recorded this rare conjunction on May 21st. Behold, a solar storm passing directly in front of the Pleiades:

Take a look!Ī SOLAR STORM AND THE PLEIADES: Before the launch of the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) in 1995, astronomers had never seen anything like this. Considering that the supernova is 21 million light years away, it's actually pretty bright. However, it is an easy target for backyard telescopes. Magnitude +11 is far too dim to see with the unaided eye. A shock wave escaped the dying star on May 19th (Earth time), creating a fireball first noticed by Koichi Itagaki of Yamagata, Japan. SN 2023ixf is a Type II supernova caused by the core collapse of a massive star. The shortfall will tell researchers something about the star's environment, which can slow the expansion of the fireball if the star system is choked with gas. Initially, experts thought this supernova might become as bright as magnitude +10 (or even better). 'Observations posted to the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) have not changed for more than 36 hours, indicating a peak magnitude of +11 +/- 0.2,' he says. Less than a week after it exploded into view near the Big Dipper, 'new supernova SN 2023ixf in the Pinwheel Galaxy may have stopped brightening,' reports Eliot Herman, who photographed the plateauing fireball on May 24th:

THE SUPERNOVA HAS REACHED ITS PEAK: If Lebron James can slow down, so can a supernova. Its rapid development could lead to explosive instabilities and solar flares. The fast-growing sunspot is breaching the surface of the sun's southern hemisphere. NEW FAST-GROWING SUNSPOT: Yesterday, sunspot AR3315 was almost invisible. Neutron counts from the University of Oulu's Sodankyla Geophysical Observatory show that cosmic rays reaching Earth are slowly declining-a result of the yin-yang relationship between the solar cycle and cosmic rays. Credit: SDO/HMIĬosmic Rays Solar Cycle 25 is intensifying, and this is reflected in the number of cosmic rays entering Earth's atmosphere. Sunspot AR3311 has a 'beta-gamma' magnetic field that harbors energy for M-class solar flares.

Nasa picture of the day march 12 2012