Solar activity as a research area focuses on the study of time-varying phenomena originating from the Sun’s magnetic field, including sunspots, flares, coronal mass ejections, solar wind variability, and associated irradiance changes. It integrates solar physics, plasma astrophysics, and space weather science to understand magnetic field generation via the solar dynamo, energy storage and release in the corona, and particle acceleration processes. This field employs multi-wavelength observations, in situ spacecraft measurements, and magnetohydrodynamic modeling to quantify solar variability and its coupling to the heliosphere, planetary magnetospheres, and upper atmospheres, with implications for technological systems and long-term space climate.
A Southwest Research Institute (SwRI)-led team has developed an improved model for predicting solar events that incorporates activity on the far side of the sun. The team studied near-simultaneous maps of the whole solar ...
Planetary Sciences
Oct 13, 2026
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The sun is such a constant in our lives that it can be difficult to imagine our star ever changing. But the sun can be quite variable. There are times when its magnetic field is turbulent and generates many sunspots and other ...
Planetary Sciences
Sep 20, 2026
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A 178-year-old mystery surrounding one of the earliest recorded examples of space weather affecting technology has been solved by an international team led by Lancaster University.
Planetary Sciences
Sep 16, 2026
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The sun is capable of great things. In massive eruptions, it repeatedly hurls particles and radiation into space. This solar bombardment can be dangerous for technical infrastructure on Earth: For example, satellites and ...
Planetary Sciences
Sep 10, 2026
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29
Our sun is capable of storms far bigger than we've ever recorded. Studying the world's oldest trees suggests we could soon be due one of these gargantuan events.
Planetary Sciences
Aug 17, 2026
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Long before dark sunspots appear on the sun's surface, a new active region—where powerful solar eruptions can originate—begins showing subtle signs of its formation. Now, researchers say a new artificial intelligence model ...
Planetary Sciences
Aug 14, 2026
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Researchers from the U.S. National Science Foundation National Solar Observatory (NSF NSO), the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Germany, and the High Altitude Observatory (HAO) in the U.S. have made ...
General Physics
Aug 5, 2026
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Scientists plan to use a total solar eclipse that will be visible in Spain next week as a rare chance to learn more about the stormy, unpredictable nature of our star.
Planetary Sciences
Aug 5, 2026
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For six and a half days in July 2024, the balloon-borne solar observatory Sunrise III kept its gaze fixed on the sun. The stratospheric flight, which stretched from the northernmost tip of Sweden to Canada's Northwest Territories, ...
Astronomy
Jul 9, 2026
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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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