Dr. Maria Weber spent the first part of her career as a solar physicist studying, among other things, the magnetism that might give the Sun its spots and drive some of this explosive activity. Now, she’s a physics professor at Delta State University in Mississippi and director of the school’s Wiley... Read More
NASA researchers and colleagues from around the world will present the latest findings on a range of Earth and space science topics at the annual American Geophysical Union (AGU) meeting, being held virtually and in New Orleans from Monday, Dec.13, through Friday, Dec. 17.
Strange things happen in Earth’s atmosphere at high latitudes, a region known as the cusp. By understanding the forces at play in the cusp, scientists hope to better anticipate changes in spacecraft trajectories. The launch window for CREX-2, which launches from Andenes, Norway, opens Dec. 1, 2021.
What happens on Earth doesn’t stay on Earth. Using observations from NASA’s ICON, scientists presented the first direct measurements of Earth’s long-theorized dynamo on the edge of space: a wind-driven electrical generator that spans the globe 60-plus miles above our heads.
Universe, Solar System, Sun, Space Experiments
Are you interested in starting your own citizen science project? NASA's Citizen Science Seed Funding Program can help!
Dr. Eugene Parker, namesake of NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, received the 2020 Crafoord Prize in Astronomy. Dr. Nicky Fox, Director of Heliophysics at NASA, awarded him the prize on Wednesday.
A joint NASA-U.S. Naval Research Laboratory experiment dedicated to studying the origins of solar energetic particles — the Sun’s most powerful form of radiation — is ready for launch. UVSC, or Ultraviolet Spectro-Coronagraph, Pathfinder will hitch a ride to space aboard STPSat-6.
Our corner of the universe, the solar system, is nestled inside the Milky Way galaxy, home to more than 100 billion stars. The solar system is encased in a bubble called the heliosphere, which separates us from the vast galaxy beyond – and some of its harsh space radiation.
Like all the planets, asteroids exist in the heliosphere, the vast bubble of space defined by the reaches of our Sun’s wind. Directly and indirectly, the Sun affects many aspects of existence within this pocket of the universe. Here are a few of the ways the Sun influences asteroids like the... Read More
Just as ocean waves follow the wind, scientists expected that waves traveling along the magnetosphere should ripple in the direction of the solar wind. But a new study reveals some waves do just the opposite.
The CLASP2.1 mission will launch a rocket to measure the magnetic field in a critical slice of the Sun’s atmosphere called the chromosphere.
Sun, Earth’s Space Environment
As we look forward to the Artemis program to the Moon and even one-day crewed missions to Mars, accessing resources like water will be crucial for humans to survive on other worlds. We sat down with Victor Glover, NASA Crew-1 astronaut, to talk about NASA’s Artemis program, what it would be like to... Read More
Launching with Landsat 9, a joint mission of NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey, are four CubeSats – compact, cube-shaped satellites used for space research projects. One of the CubeSats launching with Landsat 9 is the Cusp Plasma Imaging Detector, or CuPID.
SDO’s EVE instrument uses sounding rockets for calibration. During roughly 15-minute flights, these suborbital rockets carry an EVE duplicate about 180 miles above Earth, where it records measurements to keep its twin instrument aboard SDO in tune. The next EVE calibration flight is scheduled to... Read More
