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.
In December 2023, scientists looking at Mars data stumbled across something completely unexpected—observations of an atmospheric effect never before seen in the Red Planet's atmosphere. Using instruments aboard NASA's MAVEN ...
Planetary Sciences
May 18, 2026
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A joint European-Chinese spacecraft is set to blast off Tuesday to investigate what happens when extreme winds and giant explosions of plasma shot out from the sun slam into Earth's magnetic shield.
Planetary Sciences
May 17, 2026
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When NASA scientists first observed a particular radio burst from the sun in August 2025, there was nothing unusual about it. But then the radio burst kept going. Typically, solar radio bursts like these last a few hours ...
Astronomy
May 15, 2026
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A new AI-based approach that can "hear" inside the sun could give vital signs of the solar disturbances that have significant effects in near-Earth space and on human activities. The solar cycle is an approximate 11-year ...
Astronomy
May 12, 2026
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A daring mission to lift NASA's sinking Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is now one step closer to launch this June. On May 4, Katalyst Space Technologies completed environmental tests of its LINK robotic servicing spacecraft ...
Space Exploration
May 11, 2026
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When solar storms strike Earth, they can disrupt power grids, rail systems, satellites, and even marine life. These effects arise because solar wind and geomagnetic activity disturb the magnetosphere–ionosphere system, generating ...
Astronomy
May 6, 2026
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Solar emissions exert 'drag' on space junk orbiting Earth. From historical measurements across a period of 36 years, researchers have now shown that space junk begins to fall down much faster once the sun's activity across ...
Space Exploration
May 6, 2026
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It has been a dream of astronomers and solar scientists for ages. A new mission gives solar researchers a powerful new tool in their arsenal: on-demand, total solar eclipses. Launched in 2024, The European Space Agency's ...
Space Exploration
Apr 30, 2026
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For observers on Earth, the sun appears as a bright, familiar disk—but what we see is only half the story. Like the moon, one half of the sun is permanently hidden from our direct view: the far side beyond the visible solar ...
Astronomy
Apr 24, 2026
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At more than one million degrees, the sun's atmosphere—the corona—is incredibly hot; but not everywhere. Time and again, huge structures of significantly cooler solar plasma—about 10,000 degrees—appear within the corona. ...
Astronomy
Apr 22, 2026
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