News Articles
Sun, Citizen Science
Nov 13, 2020
A new finding about the formation of streaks within the aurora-like STEVE phenomenon brings scientists one step closer to solving the mystery.
Solar System, Sun
Jul 16, 2020
Comet NEOWISE is visible in an aurora-filled sky in this photo by Aurorasaurus Ambassador Donna Lach. The photo was taken early on July 14, 2020, in western Manitoba, Canada. The purple ribbon-like structure to the left is STEVE, an aurora-related phenomenon discovered with the help of citizen... Read More
Solar System, Sun
Jun 25, 2020
On June 15, 2020, a citizen scientist spotted a never-before-seen comet in data from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, or SOHO — the 4,000th comet discovery in the spacecraft’s 25-year history.
Sun, Earth’s Space Environment
May 4, 2020
A citizen scientist working with NASA's Aurorasaurus project has unearthed an exciting piece of scientific history. In the writings of early 20th-century aurora explorer Carl Størmer, citizen scientist Dr. Michael Hunnekuhl noticed mentions of “feeble homogeneous arcs of great altitude” and... Read More
Sun, Our Sun, Earth’s Space Environment
Nov 24, 2019
The wind speed of a devastating Category 5 hurricane can top over 150 miles per hour (241km/hour.) Now imagine another kind of wind with an average speed of 0.87 million miles per hour (1.4 million km/hour.) Welcome to the wind that begins in our Sun and doesn’t stop until after it reaches the edge... Read More
Sun, Earth’s Space Environment
Apr 14, 2019
Constantly shielding us from the Sun’s high energy particles is the Earth’s magnetic field. Many imagine this field as a circle, slightly larger than our planet. But, it’s actually shaped like this. And near our north and south poles, there is a cusp – a point where two branches of a curve meet. It... Read More
Sun, Our Sun
Mar 27, 2019
When sea-faring nations began to explore new regions of the world, one of their biggest concerns in making the journey safely was how to cope with weather. They could harness the wind for power. They could rely on the Sun and the stars for navigation. They could build sturdy ships. But if a storm... Read More
Sun
Nov 7, 2018
Editor's note: The Nov. 7 launch attempt has been scrubbed. The next launch opportunity will be Thursday, Nov. 8.
Earth, Sun, ISS
Aug 16, 2018
The Sun. It inspires songs, warms us, and grows our food. Life on land and in the oceans, the daily weather, and long-term climate patterns happen primarily because of energy we receive from our closest star. Even tiny variations in that energy can affect the workings of our planet’s atmosphere.... Read More
Sun
Aug 13, 2018
Hours before the rise of the very star it will study, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe launched from Florida Sunday to begin its journey to the Sun, where it will undertake a landmark mission. The spacecraft will transmit its first science observations in December, beginning a revolution in our... Read More
Sun, Our Sun
Aug 8, 2018
People around the world look up and see our Sun every day. But through a space telescope, it looks nothing like it does from down on the ground. The surface dances with arches of solar material that reach up into the solar atmosphere – an environment of charged particles and magnetic fields unlike... Read More
Sun, Earth’s Space Environment
Mar 30, 2018
Up above the clouds, Earth’s atmosphere gives way to space. This interface is called the ionosphere. Changes in the ionosphere – in reaction to space weather above and Earth’s weather below -- can disrupt communications and GPS signals and could potentially harm astronauts. So it is important to... Read More
Sun, Earth’s Space Environment
Mar 25, 2018
Enveloping our planet and protecting us from the fury of the Sun is a giant bubble of magnetism called the magnetosphere. It deflects most of the solar material sweeping towards us from our star at 1 million miles per hour or more. Without the magnetosphere, the relentless action of these solar... Read More
Earth, Sun
Mar 16, 2018
NASA has powered on its latest space payload to continue long-term measurements of the Sun's incoming energy. Total and Spectral solar Irradiance Sensor (TSIS-1), installed on the International Space Station, became fully operational with all instruments collecting science data as of this March.
Universe, Earth, Sun
Feb 12, 2018
In collaboration with NASA, the National Informal STEM Education Network (NISE Net) is pleased to offer eligible institutions the opportunity to apply for a free Sun, Earth, Universe exhibition.
