Heliophysics Stories
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High above Earth, thin veils of metallic haze drift through the edge of space. Known as sporadic E layers, these high-altitude “clouds” form from the vaporized dust of burnt-up meteors, earning their name from the unpredictable way they emerge and…
Fully autonomous space mission operations require the ability to detect faults and compensate for them without human intervention. To address this challenge and provide model-based support for system design and operations, it is important to connect fault management (FM) and…
At the center of our solar system, the Sun influences every planet that orbits it. In two recent NASA-funded studies, scientists uncovered how ancient events in the Sun’s history may have helped create Earth’s unique climate and driven previously unexplained climatic shifts. In new research, scientists…
On Aug. 12, a total solar eclipse darkened skies over Greenland, Iceland, and Spain. As the Moon covered the Sun, it briefly revealed the Sun’s wispy outer atmosphere — the corona — to those in the path of totality who…
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was revised Aug. 27, 2026, to clarify the interrelationship between the COFFIES DRIVE Science Center and SWAO. As humanity looks to the Moon and stars for future exploration, predicting space weather — conditions in space primarily…
Using continuous imagery from NASA’s PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) mission, scientists predicted the near-Earth arrival of a solar eruption to within 30 minutes in an initial proof of concept test. The results, presented Tuesday at the…
Editor’s note: An update to this story was made on July 30, 2026, to share information about NASA’s live eclipse broadcast. Each time the Moon covers the Sun during a total solar eclipse — darkening daytime skies and briefly revealing…
New research led by scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California has revealed the identity of a puzzling near-Earth object by precisely tracking its motion through space and using powerful observatories that image faint celestial objects. This object…
In early May 2026, NASA employees, contractors, and volunteers helped to bring Heliophysics to girls of all ages in a fun-filled weekend of hands-on science activities and experiments.
On May 21, ground controllers powered down NASA’s AWE (Atmospheric Waves Experiment) instrument, bringing the data collection phase of the mission to a successful and scheduled end, surpassing its planned two-year mission. Installed on the exterior of the International Space…