High-energy X-ray bursts from low-energy plasma

Solar flares shouldn't produce X-rays, but they do. Why? The one-size-fits-all approach to electron collisions misses a lucky few that lead to an intense X-ray burst. Scientists thought there were too many electron-scattering ...

Spacecraft measurements reveal mechanism of solar wind heating

Queen Mary University of London has led a study which describes the first direct measurement of how energy is transferred from the chaotic electromagnetic fields in space to the particles that make up the solar wind, leading ...

A stellar achievement: Magnetized space winds in the laboratory

New insights have been gained about stellar winds, streams of high-speed charged particles called plasma that blow through interstellar space. These winds, created by eruptions from stars or stellar explosions, carry with ...

Scientist explores a better way to predict space weather

Findings recently published by a Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) space scientist shed new light on predicting the thermodynamics of solar flares and other "space weather" events involving hot, fast-moving plasmas.

Secrets of solar flares can now be studied on Earth

Solar flares, cosmic radiation, and the northern lights are well known phenomena. But exactly how their enormous energy arises is not as well understood. Now, physicists at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have ...

Scientists help solve mystery of why comets emit X-rays

The mystery of why comets travelling through Space give off X-ray emissions has been solved thanks to new research undertaken by a team that included science staff from STFC's Central Laser Facility (CLF) and RAL Space.

Cluster measures turbulence in Earth's magnetic environment

For the first time, scientists have estimated how much energy is transferred from large to small scales within the magnetosheath, the boundary region between the solar wind and the magnetic bubble that protects our planet. ...

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