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The Sun Spot

    NASA’s Geotail Mission Experiences an Anomaly

    Artistic representation of the Geotail spacecraft. The 3D image blue spacecraft is set against the dark back drop of space in the distance are small orbs representing planets and a bright white circle representing the Sun.

    NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Japan's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are determining how to move forward with the joint Geotail mission since discovering the spacecraft's last operational data recorder has failed. Originally, Geotail was equipped with two data recorders to collect the mission's scientific data. One …

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    Honoring the Father of Heliophysics

    Photo of Nicky Fox presenting the laureate lecture on behalf of Eugene Parker

    I recently had the honor of giving the laureate lecture on behalf of Eugene "Gene" Parker, winner of the Crafoord Prize in Astronomy. It was one of the biggest moments of my career. It was also one of the hardest. Gene received the award in 2020 "for pioneering and fundamental studies of the solar wind …

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    Like an Outdoor Nightclub: Q&A on Pulsating Auroras

    NASA's citizen science projects are collaborations between scientists and interested members of the public. Through these collaborations, volunteers known as citizen scientists have helped make thousands of important scientific discoveries. Aurorasaurus is one such project that tracks auroras around the world in real time via reports on its website and on Twitter. Aurorasaurus often partners …

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    NASA-funded CubeSat Discovers Source of Super-fast Electron Rain

    By Emmanuel Masongsong Using a NASA-funded CubeSat, scientists have uncovered a new source of super-fast, energetic electrons raining down on our planet, which can have implications for space infrastructure and atmospheric modeling. Scientists from the University of California Los Angles (UCLA) observed this rain, known as "electron precipitation", from low-Earth orbit using the Electron Losses …

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    Solar Tour Pit Stop #12: At the Sun

    At the Sun Greetings from the Sun! Today is the final stop of our #SolarTour and we've got some big news from Parker Solar Probe. Hot off the press! We've touched the Sun! Parker Solar Probe is officially the first spacecraft to fly through the Sun's upper atmosphere – the corona – sample particles and …

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    Solar Tour Pit Stop #11: Near the Sun

    Near the Sun We're nearing the end of our solar tour, which means we're getting closer to the star of the show! We sent Parker Solar Probe to the Sun to investigate some of our star's biggest mysteries. The closer we get, the more discoveries we make. The Sun's hottest mystery One of the big …

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    Solar Tour Pit Stop #10: The Solar Cycle

    The Solar Cycle Everything we've seen so far on the solar tour has been shaped by the Sun's activity, which ebbs and flows over an 11-year cycle. To understand the Sun's effects on space, we need to get to the bottom of the solar cycle. How one scientist predicts the solar cycle Solar scientist Lisa …

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    Solar Tour Pit Stop #9: The Solar Wind

    The Solar Wind Ah, the solar wind – that steady stream of particles our Sun sheds to space. The solar wind fills every nook and cranny of interstellar space, pelting planetary atmospheres and shaping their long-term fate. Space weather Hey Parker, how's the weather out there? There's weather in space – but we're not talking …

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    Solar Tour Pit Stop #8: Venus

    A Swing by Venus Greetings from the solar tour! We have arrived at Venus. Venus and Earth are twins, both rocky and similar size and structure. Studying Venus helps scientists understand what makes Venus inhospitable and Earth habitable. But Venus is closer to the Sun, and spacecraft that have flown there in the past have …

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    Solar Tour Pit Stop #7: Interplanetary Space

    The Space Between Hello from interplanetary space! This solar tour stop may seem empty, but there's more than meets the eye. Empty space, full of plasma If you look closely, the space between the planets is filled with dust, particles, magnetic fields and a mysterious substance called plasma. Hear from scientists Doug Rowland and Don …

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