Science Questions

The study of heliophysics attempts to understand the nature of space itself – including how the Sun's magnetic fields and particles affect space throughout the solar system. Near Earth, such effects are known as space weather, which can interfere with our communications and satellite technology. Knowledge of our space environment also helps us understand the region through which spacecraft travel, as well as provide clues to the forces that forged the planets and other stars.

The NASA Heliophysics Division is guided by goals defined in the NASA 2014 Strategic Plan, NASA 2014 Science Plan, and the 2013 National Research Council Decadal Strategy for Solar and Space Physics report, Solar and Space Physics: A Science for a Technological Society. To improve our understanding of the Sun and its interactions with the Earth and the Solar System, including space weather, we currently seeks to answer three big questions:

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James Webb Space Telescope

The image is divided horizontally by an undulating line between a cloudscape forming a nebula along the bottom portion and a comparatively clear upper portion. Speckled across both portions is a starfield, showing innumerable stars of many sizes. The smallest of these are small, distant, and faint points of light. The largest of these appear larger, closer, brighter, and more fully resolved with 8-point diffraction spikes. The upper portion of the image is blueish, and has wispy translucent cloud-like streaks rising from the nebula below. The orangish cloudy formation in the bottom half varies in density and ranges from translucent to opaque. The stars vary in color, the majority of which have a blue or orange hue. The cloud-like structure of the nebula contains ridges, peaks, and valleys – an appearance very similar to a mountain range. Three long diffraction spikes from the top right edge of the image suggest the presence of a large star just out of view.

Perseverance Rover

Parker Solar Probe

Juno