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.
Using high-resolution data from the one-meter New Vacuum Solar Telescope (NVST), a research team led by Prof. Yan Xiaoli from the Yunnan Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has conducted an in-depth study ...
Astronomy
Oct 22, 2025
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The sun has become increasingly active since 2008, a new NASA study shows. Solar activity is known to fluctuate in cycles of 11 years, but there are longer-term variations that can last decades. Case in point: Since the 1980s, ...
Astronomy
Sep 15, 2025
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128
Most places on Earth have seasons because our planet is on a tilt as it orbits the sun. But our star also has its own version of seasons that affect life on Earth—and new astronomical research is helping us better understand ...
Astronomy
Sep 10, 2025
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NASA has launched Surya, its new heliophysics artificial intelligence foundation model to empower solar scientists with tools to enhance research and space weather forecasting. Southwest Research Institute's Dr. Andrés Muñoz-Jaramillo ...
Planetary Sciences
Aug 26, 2025
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Our sun is about five times less magnetically active than other sunlike stars—effectively a special case. The reason for this could reside in the planets in our solar system, say researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf ...
Planetary Sciences
Aug 12, 2025
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67
A new study led by researchers from the Yunnan Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has unveiled a novel mechanism for filament splitting and the formation of double-decker filaments. Their findings were published ...
Astronomy
Jul 18, 2025
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Solar Maximum 2025 is the expected peak of solar activity in Solar Cycle 25, characterized by heightened sunspots, solar flares, and coronal mass ejections. This peak is anticipated around mid to late 2025, coinciding with ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 7, 2025
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149
A trio of heliophysicists and satellite trackers at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and the Goddard Planetary Heliophysics Institute at the University of Maryland has found evidence showing that Starlink satellites reenter ...
Southwest Research Institute scientists have discovered how solar activity affects the velocity distribution and evolution of helium pickup ions.
Astronomy
May 21, 2025
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61
An international team of scientists has discovered an extreme spike in radiocarbon corresponding to the year 12350 BC during the dusk of the last Ice Age. However, the strength of the event could not be assessed earlier because ...
Planetary Sciences
May 15, 2025
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