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.
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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Researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi have uncovered new clues about how energy moves through the sun's outer atmosphere, using one of nature's rarest events as their window: total solar eclipses. Drawing on more than ...
Astronomy
Feb 18, 2026
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Researchers at Kyoto University have proposed a new physical model that explores how disturbances in the ionosphere may exert electrostatic forces within Earth's crust and potentially contribute to the initiation of large ...
Earth Sciences
Feb 6, 2026
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For the first time, scientists have used satellite data to create a 3D map of the sun's interior magnetic field, the fundamental driver of solar activity. The research, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, should ...
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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When the six tiny spacecraft of NASA's SunRISE (Sun Radio Interferometer Space Experiment) mission settle into their orbits high above Earth after launching later this year, they'll function as one giant radio dish to track ...
Astronomy
Jan 20, 2026
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In May 2024, the strongest solar storm in twenty years raged. An international team led by ETH Zurich observed it. Their findings are now helping to improve space weather forecasts.
Astronomy
Jan 5, 2026
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Images captured by NASA's Parker Solar Probe as the spacecraft made its record-breaking closest approach to the sun in December 2024 have now revealed new details about how solar magnetic fields responsible for space weather ...
Astronomy
Dec 11, 2025
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A new study led by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) links quasi-periodic pulsations (QPPs) in solar flares to dynamic oscillations in magnetic reconnection, a phenomenon that can drive space weather and affect technology ...
Astronomy
Dec 9, 2025
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24
New balloon-mounted space radiation probes developed by the Surrey Space Center at the University of Surrey have captured their first measurements of a major solar storm, confirming the research team's model, which indicates ...
Astronomy
Dec 1, 2025
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