Sun Stories

NASA Scientists Gear Up for Solar Storms at Mars

6 min read

The Sun will be at peak activity this year, providing a rare opportunity to study how solar storms and radiation could affect future astronauts on the Red Planet. In the months ahead, two of NASA’s Mars spacecraft will have an…

Article5 days ago
The left image shows thin swirls of bright golden material flowing off the Sun's surface. The outline of a white box is over a speckled area of the surface, in gray and bright gold. On the right, is that area in different wavelengths. The image is purple, black, red, orange, and right yellow. In the highlighted area, the speckles are a very bright yellow with some cooler purple areas.

NASA Observations Find What Helps Heat Roots of ‘Moss’ on Sun

3 min read

Did you know the Sun has moss? Due to its resemblance to the earthly plants, scientists have named a small-scale, bright, patchy structure made of plasma in the solar atmosphere “moss.” This moss, which was first identified in 1999 by…

Article3 weeks ago
Against a black background, the total solar eclipse. It is a black circle surrounded by white, wispy streams of light that flow away from the black circle in every direction.

The April 8 Total Solar Eclipse: Through the Eyes of NASA

5 min read

On April 8, 2024, the Moon’s shadow swept across North America, treating millions to a breathtaking view of a total solar eclipse. As the Moon passed in front of the Sun, it revealed the Sun’s wispy white outer atmosphere —…

Article3 weeks ago

Scientists Pursue the Total Solar Eclipse with NASA Jet Planes

5 min read

The April 8, 2024, total solar eclipse will produce stunning views across North America. While anyone along the eclipse path with a clear sky will see the spectacular event, the best view might be 50,000 feet in the air, aboard…

Article1 month ago
A model showing the evolution of the solar corona prediction for April 8, 2024. It shows the solar corona as white light with defined structure encircling a black disk. The structured light ripples and changes throughout the animation, which represents coronal predictions.

Scientists Use NASA Data to Predict Solar Corona Before Eclipse

5 min read

Editor’s Note: This story was updated to correctly reference which NASA supercomputer was used. Our Sun, like many stars, is adorned with a crown. It’s called a corona (Latin for “crown” or “wreath”) and consists of long, thread-like strands of…

Article1 month ago
An image from the SOHO spacecraft shows the Sun covered by a red disk. A white circle within that disk shows the size of the Sun. Around the disk, white and orange streamers in the solar corona extend away from the Sun. In the upper left, a small white box opens up into a larger white box that has “SOHO-5000” written above a faint dot with one short, vertical white line above it and another below it. At the bottom is written “2024/03/25 03:48” and “ESA/NASA SOHO/LASCO C2.”

ESA, NASA Solar Observatory Discovers Its 5,000th Comet

4 min read

On March 25, 2024, a citizen scientist in the Czech Republic spotted a comet in an image from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft, which has now been confirmed to be the 5,000th comet discovered using SOHO data. SOHO…

Article1 month ago
Sunlight passes through the Moon’s rugged terrain creating the Baily’s Beads effect during the total solar eclipse Aug. 21, 2017

Sketch the Shape of the Sun for Science During the Solar Eclipse

5 min read

Calling all eclipse admirers! The SunSketcher team is looking for one million volunteers to capture photos on their cell phones during the April 8 total solar eclipse. These images will help scientists learn about the size, shape, and inner structure…

Article2 months ago
A man in a blue shirt crouches on grass. He is holding a large camera up to his eye and is pointing it at the sky. He has a large smile on his face. Behind him, many people are gathered in the shade of a tree.

Eclipse Photographers Will Help Study Sun During Its Disappearing Act

5 min read

As the Sun temporarily disappears from midday skies over North America on April 8, 2024, hundreds of volunteers will capture photos of the total solar eclipse to help us better understand the Sun and its relationship with Earth. These photographers…

Article2 months ago
In this illustration, a small portion of the Sun appears in yellow at the bottom with a dark sunspot in the center. Above the sunspot, against a black background, appear several vertical, curved streaks of light that are light pink at the bottom, closest to the sunspot and darken to dark pink in the middle then purple at the top. The streaks also appear thinner at the top than at the bottom.

NASA-Supported Team Discovers Aurora-Like Radio Bursts Above Sunspot

3 min read

A NASA-funded team of scientists has discovered long-lasting radio signals emanating from the Sun that are similar to those associated with auroras – northern and southern lights – on Earth. Detected about 25,000 miles (40,000 km) above a sunspot –…

Article2 months ago
An animation shows a white cloud of material billowing away from the Sun (which is covered by a black disk at the center) toward the left side of the image, set against a red background with a couple dozen stars. The top says "STEREO Ahead COR2" and the bottom shows the date 2021-04-17 with the time progressing from 12:23:30 to 23:53:30.

Multiple Spacecraft Tell the Story of One Giant Solar Storm

5 min read

April 17, 2021, was a day like any other day on the Sun, until a brilliant flash erupted and an enormous cloud of solar material billowed away from our star. Such outbursts from the Sun are not unusual, but this…

Article2 months ago