Best Space Stories of the Week March 22, 2015

A stunning solar eclipse wowed spectators, powerful green auroras appeared on St. Patrick's Day, it was the 50th anniversary of the first spacewalk, and "Christmas lights" were seen on Mars. It's been a busy week in space news; here are Space.com's picks for the best space stories of the week.

Up north, a total solar eclipse

Day was turned briefly into night in some parts of the world on Friday (March 20) when a total solar eclipse passed through the sky over the north Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. A partial eclipse was visible in Europe, northern Asia and northern Africa. [Full Story: Spectacular Total Solar Eclipse Kicks Off First Day of Spring (Photos, Video)

A solar storm for St. Patrick's Day

A powerful solar stormbombarded the Earth's atmosphere with supercharged particles on Saint Patrick's Day (March 17). The storm was not a threat to satellites or astronauts in space, but it did pose a threat to GPS and radio signals on Earth. [Full Story: St. Patrick's Day Solar Storm Bombards Earth, Sparks Auroras]

Aurora's paint the skies on St. Patrick's Day

The surprisingly powerful St. Patrick's Day solar storm supercharged the northern auroras, and sky watchers in Sweden, Wisconsin, Croatia and other parts of the world sent us their photos of the amazing light show. Astronaut Terry Virts also photographed the notably green lights from the International Space Station. [Fully Story: See the Spectacular Aurora Photos from St. Patrick's Day Solar Storm]

Mars One colony delayed

Plans for the first manned trip to Mars have been delayed. The Mars One private colonization project has pushed the scheduled launch date of its first manned mission to the Red Planet back by two years, to 2026. The company says the delay is due to a lack of investment funding. [Full Story: Mars One Colony Project Delays Manned Red Planet Mission to 2026]

Competition heats up for space-bound cargo

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Best Space Stories of the Week March 22, 2015