Space weather as a research area investigates the variable conditions in space driven primarily by solar activity and their impact on the heliosphere, near-Earth environment, and technological systems. It encompasses the study of the solar magnetic field, flares, coronal mass ejections, high-speed solar wind streams, and energetic particles, and how these phenomena interact with planetary magnetospheres, ionospheres, and upper atmospheres. Research integrates observations, theory, and physics-based modeling to understand and predict geomagnetic storms, radiation belt dynamics, ionospheric disturbances, and associated hazards to satellites, communication and navigation systems, power grids, and human spaceflight.
Shielding astronauts from the deadly radiation they face is a central challenge for any designer of a deep-space crewed mission. Even relatively low levels of exposure over long periods can lead to everything from central ...
Space Exploration
Jul 11, 2026
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A team at the Applied Physics Lab is working to understand the complex science behind predicting invisible threats that can quickly cripple electric grid infrastructure on Earth.
Earth Sciences
Jul 10, 2026
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Researchers are closer to unraveling a longstanding solar mystery surrounding the extreme thinness of the sun's tachocline layer of strong shearing motion—a region believed to be critical for creating the violent eruptions ...
Astronomy
Jul 8, 2026
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A three-armed spacecraft rocketed into orbit Friday to rescue a NASA telescope that's in danger of crashing back to Earth.
Space Exploration
Jul 3, 2026
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Searching for habitable worlds beyond our solar system involves more than having a planet orbit within its star's habitable zone, the region where temperatures could be just right for liquid water to exist on the surface. ...
Astrobiology
Jul 1, 2026
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Imagine a piece of space debris the size of a hockey puck slams into a Starlink satellite at about 10 kilometers per second. The kinetic energy is equivalent to 2 kilograms of TNT, or a fully loaded semitruck traveling at ...
Planetary Sciences
Jul 1, 2026
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NASA is set to launch a daring robotic rescue mission, a long-shot bid to prevent one of its aging telescopes from vanishing into dust.
Space Exploration
Jun 30, 2026
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A new study has revealed an unexpected link between solar storms and the flux of high-energy cosmic rays arriving at Earth. The findings, made using one of the world's largest cosmic ray detectors, could open up a new way ...
For decades, scientists have searched for a clear link between the sun's explosive storms and the weather that occurs on Earth. A breakthrough study from the University of New Hampshire reveals that in the hours and days ...
Earth Sciences
Jun 28, 2026
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A mission to raise the orbit of NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is poised for launch no earlier than Tuesday, June 30, at 6:23 a.m. EDT (10:23 p.m. UTC+12), from Kwajalein Atoll, part of the Republic of the Marshall ...
Astronomy
Jun 26, 2026
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