Nothing seems more familiar than the sun in the sky. But mysterious swirls, jets, and flashes of powerful light that scientists cannot explain occur in the sun's outer atmosphere all the time. Now, researchers at the U.S. ...
Plasma Physics
Jul 8, 2021
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After glimpsing faint but widespread super-heated material in the Sun's outer atmosphere, a NASA sounding rocket is going back for more. This time, they're carrying a new instrument optimized to see it across a wider region ...
Astronomy
May 18, 2021
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The source of potentially hazardous solar particles, released from the Sun at high speed during storms in its outer atmosphere, has been located for the first time by researchers at UCL and George Mason University, Virginia, ...
Space Exploration
Mar 3, 2021
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Though they focus on the star at the center of our solar system, three of NASA's Sun-watching spacecraft have captured unique views of the planets throughout the last several months. Using instruments that look not at the ...
Space Exploration
Jan 27, 2021
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As Chile and Argentina witnessed the total solar eclipse on Dec. 14, 2020, unbeknownst to skywatchers, a little tiny speck was flying past the Sun—a recently discovered comet.
Space Exploration
Dec 18, 2020
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Extensive power outages and satellite blackouts that affect air travel and the internet are some of the potential consequences of massive solar storms. These storms are believed to be caused by the release of enormous amounts ...
Space Exploration
Jul 29, 2020
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On April 8, 2020, the Polarimeter to UNify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) mission achieved an important milestone, passing NASA's critical System Requirements Review/Mission Definition Review (SRR/MDR). Southwest Research ...
Space Exploration
Apr 13, 2020
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The upper layers in the atmospheres of gas giants—Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune—are hot, just like Earth's. But unlike Earth, the Sun is too far from these outer planets to account for the high temperatures. Their ...
Astronomy
Apr 7, 2020
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The fairing of the US Atlas V 411 rocket with ESA's Solar Orbiter spacecraft inside at the Astrotech payload processing facility near Kennedy Space Center in Florida during launch preparations on 21 January 2020.
Space Exploration
Feb 6, 2020
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In order to search for life in outer space, astronomers first need to know where to look. A new Northwestern University study will help astronomers narrow down the search.
Astronomy
Nov 12, 2019
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