"As we know, Earth has one moon that we all admire and observe, but there are plenty of other pieces flying around in space," said physics teacher Martin Vällik.

Sometimes, the trajectory of one of these objects intersects with Earth's path or even with Earth itself. "Occasionally, they enter Earth's gravitational field and our planet's gravity influences the trajectory of these celestial visitors in such a way that it alters their movement," Vällik explained. "The so-called second moon that recently visited Earth was briefly captured by our planet's gravitational embrace. It orbited Earth once before continuing on its way in a different direction. So, for a couple of months, Earth truly had a second companion."

On April 8 at 9:51 a.m., a major solar eclipse occurred in Mexico, during which the moon passed between the Earth and the sun, temporarily blocking all daylight. "What made this total solar eclipse extraordinary was that it was visible in a region with a very high population density. Since two-thirds of Earth's surface is covered by water, solar eclipses often occur over the middle of the ocean," explained Vällik.

A comet visible to the naked eye, a rare occurrence, also came near Earth. "It was known a year and a half in advance that the comet was on its way, but how it would appear could only be determined once it arrived," explained Vällik. "Some comets originate from the Öpik-Oort Cloud, which surrounds the solar system on all sides but is extremely distant. When a comet from there finally approaches, it takes thousands of years to complete its journey to reach us."

According to Vällik, comets that can be observed from Earth with the naked eye appear roughly every five years.

This year also saw an extraordinary number of northern lights. "Our home star, the sun, has several cycles. One of these is an 11-year cycle during which the sun alternates between periods of high and low activity. When the sun is more active, its surface features many sunspots, which can be observed with some preparation and simple equipment at home," Vällik explained.

He added that when there are many sunspots and solar activity is high, the sun ejects solar material at tremendous speed. "This can be referred to as a geomagnetic storm because the material is electrically charged. When these particles enter our atmosphere at high speeds, they cause atmospheric gases to glow and shine, which we see from the ground as northern lights."

Vällik noted that northern lights have been especially frequent and powerful in 2024. "They have been so intense that it was possible to see them even from the heart of Tallinn at the start of summer. Such an occurrence is truly rare," he added.

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