A Cosmic Tap on the Shoulder

Get that out of my eyes! In December, the Milky Way Association™ delivered a belated Welcome Wagon Basket™ to Earth. "A huge explosion halfway across the galaxy packed so much power it briefly altered Earth's upper atmosphere in December, astronomers said Friday. [February 18] No known eruption beyond our solar system has ever appeared as bright upon arrival... ...The blast originated about 50,000 light-years away and was detected Dec. 27... ...'That it can reach out and tap us on the shoulder like this, reminds us that we really are linked to the cosmos,' said Phil Wilkinson of IPS Australia, that country's space weather service." Glad to know the universe knows we're in the neighborhood...