Solar flares shouldn't produce X-rays, but they do. Why? The one-size-fits-all approach to electron collisions misses a lucky few that lead to an intense X-ray burst. Scientists thought there were too many electron-scattering ...
Plasma Physics
Feb 19, 2019
0
30
Researchers have investigated wave-particle interactions between energetic electrons and chorus waves evolving in the space surrounding the Earth using the scientific satellite Arase and, simultaneously, transient auroral ...
General Physics
Feb 5, 2019
0
133
In the next decade, NASA aims to launch humankind toward the moon and on to Mars—a monumental step in crewed space travel. Such a journey is filled with challenges and perils, not unlike those faced by the first explorers ...
Space Exploration
Dec 3, 2018
4
144
At the center of the sun is a raging nuclear inferno that reaches temperatures well into the millions of degrees. The surface is cool by comparison, at 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
Space Exploration
Sep 27, 2018
0
23
Early on an August morning, the sky near Cape Canaveral, Florida, will light up with the launch of Parker Solar Probe. No earlier than Aug. 6, 2018, a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy will thunder to space carrying the ...
Space Exploration
Jul 20, 2018
1
703
Princeton astrophysicist David McComas will be the principal investigator for a science mission to sample, analyze and map particles streaming to Earth from the sun and from the edges of interstellar space. He is presenting ...
Space Exploration
Jul 18, 2018
0
7
What happens when the solar wind suddenly starts to blow significantly harder? According to two recent studies, the boundaries of our entire solar system balloon outward—and an analysis of particles rebounding off of its ...
Space Exploration
Jun 6, 2018
0
219
A team of researchers at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) has been awarded NASA funding as part of a large, five-year-long U.S. collaboration to fly an ultra-long duration balloon mission with three innovative ...
Space Exploration
Jun 4, 2018
0
28
Theoretical physicists used simulations to explain the unusual readings collected in 2009 by the Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) mission. The origin of energetic electrons detected ...
Plasma Physics
Apr 17, 2018
26
315
"Sunrise crashes an aurora party over the southern hemisphere," said astronaut Ricky Arnold of the image he snapped from the International Space Station.
Space Exploration
Apr 12, 2018
0
27
