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.
With NASA preparing for the Artemis II launch (expected tomorrow, 1 April), a strong solar flare earlier this week is putting space weather back into focus—and highlighting the unpredictable risks astronauts could face beyond ...
Space Exploration
Mar 31, 2026
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The sun, our nearest star, never stops breathing. Every second of every day, it exhales a vast stream of charged particles that sweeps outward through the solar system at hundreds of kilometers per second. We call it the ...
Astronomy
Mar 30, 2026
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Researchers at NYU Abu Dhabi have discovered new large-scale waves moving deep inside the sun, driven by magnetic fields far below the surface. These waves provide a window into parts of the sun that are otherwise inaccessible, ...
Planetary Sciences
Mar 28, 2026
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Scientists are working to understand how magnetic currents from the sun spread beneath Earth's crust when the northern lights dance across the sky. Their goal is to tame its "dark twin" and prevent damage to our power grid.
Planetary Sciences
Mar 27, 2026
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Earth's magnetic field acts as a vital shield against radiation arriving from space, but it is not constant. A new international study has examined how a reduction of the magnetic field similar to the Laschamps excursion ...
Earth Sciences
Mar 25, 2026
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The Smile mission is set to launch on a Vega-C rocket from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana on Thursday, April 9, at 08:29 CEST/07:29 BST/03:29 local time.
Space Exploration
Mar 20, 2026
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26
Every eleven years, the sun's magnetic field flips. Sunspots—dark, cooler regions on the sun's surface that mark intense magnetic activity and often trigger solar eruptions—appear at mid-latitudes and migrate toward the star's ...
Astronomy
Mar 17, 2026
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As four astronauts travel around the moon on NASA's Artemis II mission, they will venture beyond Earth's protective magnetic field. The crew's spacecraft, Orion, will carry and protect them as they journey into deep space ...
Space Exploration
Mar 16, 2026
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It seems improbable that a satellite designed to monitor polar ice sheets and floating sea ice could accurately measure a disturbance in Earth's magnetic field. But that is just what ESA's CryoSat mission did earlier this ...
Planetary Sciences
Mar 16, 2026
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Patches of the sun's surface often show strong magnetic fields. These fields can emerge within a matter of hours, and can decay slowly or quickly, sometimes over days, weeks, or even months. Thanks to a new study about these ...
Astronomy
Mar 16, 2026
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