End of an era – one that will stand very tall in space exploration for the USA.

Discovery has embarked on its last mission – STS-133 – and what a ride it has been for the USA and the world. Here’s hoping that we don’t simply punt on space exploration as the shuttle missions wind down. The shuttle series had been invaluable to science in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

Photos below from National Geographic

Here is Discovery on the launch pad:

Here is the crew:

Here is the final launch:

Space.com has full mission coverage here

See live coverage on NASA.tv here

National Geographic articles and blog posts here

On the first of August astronomers observed a truly massive solar eruption. There was, in fact, a triple-event that was initiated by a large sunspot – an area of the Sun experiencing extreme magnetic forces. What’s truly remarkable is that the event involved nearly the entire face of the Sun.

This sunspot released a large solar flare directly at the Earth. It is expected this will generate auroras in the Northern hemisphere around the 3^rd of August. With solar storms of this magnitude, there’s also the concern the charged particles that cause the auroras could also damage the sensitive equipment aboard satellites, and can even effect electronics here at home.

About once every 11 years the Sun goes through a state called solar maximum; a period of intense activity that causes sun spots and therefore, solar flares to be much more frequent. The Sun is expected to reach solar maximum this year or next.

Wired.com has a great video of the event in several different spectral ranges.