Solar radiation research encompasses the quantitative characterization, modeling, and variability analysis of electromagnetic energy emitted by the Sun and received at or near Earth, spanning ultraviolet to near‑infrared and sometimes extending to longer wavelengths. This research area investigates solar spectral and broadband irradiance, its spatial and temporal variability driven by solar activity and Earth–Sun geometry, and its modification by atmospheric constituents, clouds, and surface properties. It underpins radiative transfer modeling, climate and weather prediction, solar energy resource assessment, remote sensing retrievals, and studies of radiative forcing, enabling improved parameterizations in climate models and optimized design and siting of solar energy systems.
Technicians have successfully installed two sunshields onto NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope's inner segment. Along with the observatory's Solar Array Sun Shield and Deployable Aperture Cover, the panels (together ...
Space Exploration
Jul 31, 2025
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123
Beginning in the 1960s, satellite instruments have measured Earth's reflected broadband shortwave radiation and emitted longwave radiation. These measurements have been used to estimate Earth's "energy balance," defined as ...
Planetary Sciences
Jul 2, 2025
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26
Experiments lead to a greater understanding, deeper insights, and sometimes they even bear fruit. That was certainly the case last summer at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), where ...
Biotechnology
Jun 18, 2025
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94
When our planet and the incoming sunlight align just right, stunning phenomena such as rainbows and halos can occur. More often, sunlight—or shortwave radiation—interacts with the Earth in subtle but curious ways.
Planetary Sciences
May 7, 2025
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36
Earth's atmosphere is much more sensitive to ripples of radiation from the sun than scientists previously believed, new research by Queen's University Belfast has found.
Planetary Sciences
Apr 28, 2025
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On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse swept across North America, from the western shores of Mexico, through the United States, and into northeastern Canada. For the eclipse, NASA helped fund numerous research projects ...
Planetary Sciences
Dec 10, 2024
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50
Scientists have constructed the first complete proton energy spectrum observed during an eruptive solar event in Martian space, deepening our understanding of the radiation environment around Mars.
Astronomy
Nov 22, 2024
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76
As energy from the sun reaches Earth, some solar radiation is absorbed by the atmosphere, leading to chemical reactions like the formation of ozone and the breakup of gas molecules. A new approach for modeling these reactions, ...
Astrobiology
Nov 18, 2024
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46
Proba-3 is such an ambitious mission that it needs more than one single spacecraft to succeed. In order for Proba-3's Coronagraph spacecraft observe the sun's faint surrounding atmosphere, its disk-bearing Occulter spacecraft ...
Planetary Sciences
Nov 7, 2024
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44
In May 2024, a geomagnetic storm hit Earth, sending auroras across the planet's skies in a once-in-a-generation light display. These dazzling sights are possible because of the interaction of coronal mass ejections—explosions ...
Planetary Sciences
Sep 27, 2024
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