Hello there {$name|default('reader')}! I hope you're having a great week.

First things first - I'm sending this a day early just in case you hadn't already heard about the partial solar eclipse happening on Saturday 29th March. It'll be visible from the majority of Europe (sorry Bulgaria, not you this time), as well as North America and some parts of Africa.

This website has a pretty good write-up, along with maps and timings, so fingers crossed the sky is clear where you are. Round here it should be about 30-40% covered, so decently unusual-looking.

space.com

And remember, NEVER look at the sun - even during an eclipse - without suitable eye protection. Sunglasses are not enough, so do please take care.

Space News

Starliner Crew Home Safe

Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore launched up to the ISS back on 5th June 2024 aboard Boeing's relatively new Starliner spacecraft. They were meant to spend 10 days there performing some checks before returning home on the same vehicle. However helium leaks were soon discovered, and problems with the craft's propulsion systems meant that this return was first delayed, and then cancelled altogether. While engineers are now confident that the vehicle would have been safe for a crewed return, in August 2024 it was decided that to be cautious it would return empty, leaving the crew 'marooned' in space. (They were never trapped, there was always an emergency escape route, should one have been needed - and supplies were plentiful.) It landed safely, though Boeing obviously have some work to do ensuring it's good to go for their next attempt. To add insult to injury, their rival SpaceX was tasked with bringing the astronauts home. Suni & Butch were scheduled to come back in September 2024 aboard a SpaceX Dragon vehicle, which launched on schedule and brought Crew 9 up to the ISS. In the end, they were folded into the crew and Suni Williams was designated as commander of Expedition 72. The new plan was to return in February 2025... when Crew 10 arrived. But Crew 10 was delayed until recently, meaning that the two astronauts ended up spending more time in space than just five NASA astronauts before them. They even broke a record or two:

After she and Wilmore spent more than six hours venturing outside the space station, Williams has now spent a cumulative 62 hours and 6 minutes in the vacuum of space - more than any other woman in the world. Only three other people in the world have spent more cumulative time on spacewalks than Williams.

At the link above you can see dolphins swimming around the capsule as it is retrieved.

As always, Scott Manley has a great video covering this and a lot more besides.

Source: eu.usatoday.com

Other Books To Check Out

Strange News

Octopuses are punching fish in the face.

Better yet, they're only punching the ones who try and steal food without helping to find it.

In a remarkable example of collaboration, normally solitary octopuses of the species octopus cyanea are cooperating with various fish species to hunt together. From the article:

The fish - particularly blue goatfish - are the explorers, moving around looking for prey (such as small fish, crustaceans and molluscs). When prey is found, the octopuses then flush it out of its hiding spot. While the fish decide the direction of travel, the octopuses are the 'anchor' of the group, deciding if and when the group should move.

Now it's not entirely altruistic: when it comes to the spoils of the hunt, they don't share it among themselves. Whoever makes the final catch gets to keep it, but the act of working together makes a kill more likely, so it's still worth cooperating.

But some fish decide to try and game the system, attempting to steal the prey without playing a part in the hunt or the flushing out. That's when the octopuses start throwing tentacles about.

There's even video of the octopuses smacking non-cooperating fish away.

Researchers are amazed at the complexity of the collaboration, something that has never been seen before. Multiple species working together is extremely rare, and a clear division of labour such as is seen here is previously unknown.

While it's long been known that octopuses are remarkably intelligent, there are unanswered questions over whether there is any communication going on between the octopuses and the fish to coordinate their hunts, and if so what form it might take.

Source: discoverwildlife.com

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Miscellany

Download a free poster to celebrate 10 years of the Curiosity Rover

Source: science.nasa.gov

A newly approved tartan memorialises those persecuted for witchcraft in Scotland.

Source: wildhunt.org

A father daughter team decodes an 'alien signal'.

Source: blogs.esa.int

And Finally

Thanks to everyone who bought, downloaded and read my short stories after the last newsletter, and particular thanks to those who left ratings or reviews. That really does help immensely when getting the Amazon algorithm to notice me.

I'm delighted so many of you took the opportunity, and hope you enjoyed them. I am still writing a few more short stories, and in fact I just started re-uploading some flash fiction to YouTube.

One's being released each day, but you can skip the queue and listen to them all early if you visit the playlist!

Here's one as a sample, let me know what you think.

Source: youtube.com