James Cook and the transit of Venus
Every ~120 years a dark spot glides across the Sun. Small, inky-black, almost perfectly circular, it's no ordinary sunspot. Not everyone can see it, but some who do get the strangest feeling, of standing, to ...
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
2 hours ago |
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How big are sunspots?
The short answer? Really big. The long answer? Really, really big.
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
May 18, 2012 |
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Sun unleashes powerful X-class solar flare
The Sun has been quiet recently but early today (04:13 UTC on March 5, 2012) it unleashed a powerful X1-class solar flare and coronal mass ejection. The latest estimates indicate the CME will probably miss Earth, but hit ...
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Mar 06, 2012 |
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Earth-facing sunspot doubles in size
The latest sunspot region to traverse the face of the Sun has nearly doubled in size as it aims Earthward, as seen in the animation above from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. (Click image to play the ...
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Feb 13, 2012 |
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Study finds 'cool' gas may form and strengthen sunspots
Hydrogen molecules may act as a kind of energy sink that strengthens the magnetic grip that causes sunspots, according to scientists from Hawaii and New Mexico using a new infrared instrument on an old telescope.
Jan 31, 2012 |
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Giant sunspot turns to face the Earth
What has been billed as the largest sunspot observed in several years has now rotated around to stare straight at Earth. How large is it? Active Region 1339 and the group of sunspots adjacent to it extends ...
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 11, 2011 |
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Solar cycle primer
(PhysOrg.com) -- Telescopes spotted the first blemish on the sun in 1611. While the sun had long been thought—at least in the Western world—to be an unchanging, "perfect" orb, sky-watchers observed ...
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Oct 28, 2011 |
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Sunspot 1302: It's big. It's bad. And it's coming our way
(PhysOrg.com) -- Behemoth sunspot 1302 unleashed another strong flare on Saturday morning--an X1.9-category blast at 5:40 am EDT. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) recorded the extreme ultraviolet flash.
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Sep 26, 2011 |
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An X1.4 Solar Flare and a CME
(PhysOrg.com) -- A large coronal mass ejection (CME) shot off the West (right) side of the sun at 6:24 PM ET on September 21, 2011. The CME is moving away from Earth at about 900 miles per second.
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Sep 23, 2011 |
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Sunspot 1283 bristling with flares: An X1.8 and an M6.7
A third and fourth flare have erupted from sunspot 1283. The third came on September 7 at 6:36 PM ET, and was categorized as an X1.8 by the GOES spacecraft, making it the second X-class flare within 24 hours.
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Sep 08, 2011 |
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Forecasters: New solar flare won't cause problems
(AP) -- Forecasters say a new solar flare should provide only a glancing blow on Earth on Friday and is unlikely to cause any problems.
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Sep 07, 2011 |
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Something new on the Sun: Spacecraft observes new characteristics of solar flares
(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, has provided scientists new information about solar flares indicating an increase in strength and longevity that is more than previously thought.
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Sep 07, 2011 |
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Sunspot breakthrough
(PhysOrg.com) -- Imagine forecasting a hurricane in Miami weeks before the storm was even a swirl of clouds off the coast of Africa—or predicting a tornado in Kansas from the flutter of a butterfly's wing in Texas. These ...
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Aug 25, 2011 |
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New method detects emerging sunspots deep inside the sun, provides warning of dangerous solar flares
Viewed from the technological perspective of modern humans, the sun is a seething cauldron of disruptive influences that can wreak havoc on communication systems, air travel, power grids and satellites – ...
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Aug 18, 2011 |
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What's down with the Sun? Major drop in solar activity predicted
(PhysOrg.com) -- A missing jet stream, fading spots, and slower activity near the poles say that our Sun is heading for a rest period even as it is acting up for the first time in years, according to scientists ...
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Jun 14, 2011 |
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