A coronal mass ejection (CME) is a large-scale eruptive solar phenomenon in which magnetized plasma from the Sun’s corona is expelled into interplanetary space, typically associated with magnetic reconnection in active regions or filament eruptions. CMEs involve the release of up to ~10¹⁶ g of plasma embedded in coherent magnetic flux rope structures and can attain speeds from a few hundred to over 2,000 km/s. Propagating through the heliosphere, they drive interplanetary shocks, restructure the solar wind and heliospheric magnetic field, and, upon interacting with planetary magnetospheres, can induce strong geomagnetic disturbances.
Research led by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has integrated three types of machine learning models to generate solar magnetic patches with physical properties and used those as a query to find matching patches in real ...
Astronomy
Apr 14, 2026
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Since July 2025, the European Space Agency's pair of Proba-3 satellites has already created 57 artificial solar eclipses. So far, the mission has collected more than 250 hours of high-resolution videos of the sun's atmosphere, ...
Astronomy
Apr 13, 2026
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On Earth, extreme solar activity often appears as beautiful, benign auroras. But venturing beyond the safety of the Earth's magnetic field, one faces the full brunt of a temperamental star that can suddenly erupt with flares ...
Astronomy
Apr 9, 2026
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During the Artemis II mission launched Wednesday, NASA will test out a pair of new solar radiation forecasts, developed at University of Michigan Engineering, designed to protect astronauts venturing away from Earth. The ...
Space Exploration
Apr 2, 2026
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A Southwest Research Institute-led study found that protons and heavy ions react differently to solar magnetic reconnection events, revealing a more complex magnetic engine powering the solar wind. Magnetic reconnection converts ...
Astronomy
Mar 31, 2026
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On April 8, 2024, people across the world witnessed a solar eclipse, a relatively rare event in which the moon occults (blocks out) light from the sun. To capture this event, volunteers at 143 observatories across the U.S. ...
Space Exploration
Mar 5, 2026
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What happens when a solar superstorm hits Mars? Thanks to the European Space Agency's Mars orbiters, we now know: glitching spacecraft and a supercharged upper atmosphere.
Astronomy
Mar 5, 2026
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New research by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and the National Science Foundation's National Center for Atmospheric Research (NSF-NCAR) has developed a new tool providing a first step toward the ability to forecast ...
Planetary Sciences
Feb 19, 2026
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Using data collected by NASA's Parker Solar Probe during its closest approach to the sun, a University of Arizona-led research team has measured the dynamics and ever-changing "shell" of hot gas from where the solar wind ...
Space Exploration
Jan 30, 2026
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When a solar storm strikes Earth, it can disrupt technology that's vital for our daily lives. Solar storms occur when magnetic fields and electrically charged particles collide with Earth's magnetic field. This type of event ...
Space Exploration
Jan 26, 2026
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