(Phys.org) —In our solar system, dust particles are abundant, created by asteroid collisions and by the evaporation of comets. These particles are the source of the zodiacal light, a diffuse glow in the night sky that extends ...
Space Exploration
Sep 9, 2013
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Dust particles smaller than about a wavelength of light are abundant in our solar system, created by collisions between asteroids and from the evaporation of comets. As they scatter sunlight, these particles produce the zodiacal ...
Astronomy
Mar 9, 2015
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53
(Phys.org)—The mystery surrounding how an electrically charged solar wind can be unleashed from around the Sun's equator – an area where strong magnetic fields should strap it to the surface – has been solved by an ...
Space Exploration
Oct 10, 2012
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Modeling of an extreme space weather event that narrowly missed Earth in 2012 shows it could have been even worse if paired with another event.
Astronomy
Sep 29, 2020
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Counting sunspots over time helps in knowing the activity of our star but the two indices used by scientists disagree on dates prior to 1885. Now an international team of researchers has tried to standardise the historical ...
Space Exploration
Feb 9, 2015
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Solar activity varies in 11-year cycles. As the activity cycle switches to a new one, the Sun is usually very calm for several years.
Space Exploration
Aug 4, 2020
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Satellites have detected powerful solar flares in the last two months, but this phenomenon has been recorded for over a century. On 10 September 1886, at the age of just 17, a young amateur astronomer from Madrid, using a ...
Space Exploration
Oct 19, 2017
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More than 150 years ago, the Sun blasted Earth with a massive cloud of hot charged particles. This plasma blob generated a magnetic storm on Earth that caused sparks to leap out of telegraph equipment and even started a few ...
Materials Science
Mar 25, 2021
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Solar flares occur when magnetic energy builds up in the sun's atmosphere and is released as electromagnetic radiation. Lasting anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours, flares usually reach temperatures around 10 million ...
Astronomy
Jan 31, 2024
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