Free Republic

All five people on board an air ambulance died Friday after their plane crashed near the city of Stagecoach in western Nevada. The plane was carrying a pilot, flight nurse, flight paramedic, a patient and a family member of the patient, according to REMSA Health, which provides the air ambulance service. "We are in the process of notifying their family members," the organization wrote in a statement. "Our immediate focus is helping our team members and families, as well as the responding agencies." Around 9:15 p.m. local time on Friday, the Lyon County Dispatch Center began to receive multiple calls...

The plane [Pilatus PC-12]had embarked shortly before noon from Chamberlain, South Dakota, and crashed about a mile southwest of there, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The cause of the crash has yet to be determined. Maule Rossow said at the time of the crash weather conditions included "strong winds and snow." FAA investigators are traveling to the site, and the National Transportation Safety Board has been notified. The NTSB will manage the investigation.

Explanation: Transits of Mercury are relatively rare. Monday's leisurely 7.5 hour long event was only the 2nd of 14 Mercury transits in the 21st century. If you're willing to travel, transits of the International Space Station can be more frequent though, and much quicker. This sharp video frame composite was taken from a well-chosen location in Philadelphia, USA. It follows the space station, moving from upper right to lower left, as it crossed the Sun's disk in 0.6 seconds. Mercury too is included as the small, round, almost stationary silhouette just below center. In apparent size, the International Space Station...