When scientists downlinked data from Parker Solar Probe's sixth orbit, there was a small, bright surprise waiting for them: the spacecraft's first observation of a sungrazing comet.
On Oct. 16, 2020, the Moon photobombed NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory’s view of the Sun. This apparent crossing in space, called a lunar transit, lasted about 50 minutes, between 3:05 p.m. and 3:53 p.m. ET.
Scientists looked at sunspots at low resolution, as if they were trillions of miles away, to simulate a view of distant stars. The results help us understand stellar activity and the conditions for life on planets orbiting other stars.
In a paper published today in Nature Astronomy, researchers report the first ever clear images of nanojets -- bright thin lights that travel perpendicular to the magnetic structures in the solar atmosphere, called the corona -- in a process that reveals the existence of one of the potential coronal... Read More
The Sun is stirring from its latest slumber. As sunspots and flares, signs of a new solar cycle, bubble from the Sun’s surface, scientists wonder what this next cycle will look like.
Sun, Earth’s Space Environment
The Sun goes through regular cycles of activity approximately every 11 years, and tracking these cycles is a key part of better understanding the Sun and mitigating its impacts on human technology and astronauts in space.
NASA scientists study the solar cycle so we can better predict solar activity. Solar Cycle 25 is underway, and scientists are eager for another chance to put their understanding of solar cycle signs to the test.
Solar Cycle 25 has begun. During a media event on Tuesday, experts from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) discussed their analysis and predictions about the new solar cycle – and how the coming upswing in space weather will impact our lives and technology on Earth... Read More
NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will discuss predictions for the upcoming solar cycle during a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Sept. 15. Tracking the solar cycle is a key part of better understanding the Sun and mitigating its impacts on human... Read More
The first NASA sounding rocket since the coronavirus pandemic began in the United States is about to launch. DUST-2 will carry a miniature laboratory into space, simulating how tiny grains of space dust – the raw materials of stars, planets and solar systems – form and grow.
Artificial Intelligence is now helping MMS scientists make discoveries.
NASA has selected five proposals for concept studies of missions to help improve understanding of the dynamics of the Sun and the constantly changing space environment with which it interacts around Earth.
A special type of aurora, draped east-west across the night sky like a glowing pearl necklace, is helping scientists better understand the science of auroras and their powerful drivers out in space.
For several weeks in summer 2020, NASA’s STEREO had the solar system’s best view of the star Betelgeuse, revealing more unexpected dimming by the star.
