The surface of the sun churns with energy and frequently ejects masses of highly-magnetized plasma towards Earth. Sometimes these ejections are strong enough to crash through the magnetosphere—the natural magnetic shield ...
Astronomy
Jun 3, 2021
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Today (September 1), space scientists around the world are celebrating ten years of ground-breaking discoveries by 'Cluster', a mission that is illuminating the mysteries of the magnetosphere, the northern lights and the ...
Space Exploration
Aug 31, 2010
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Earth's aurorae, or Northern and Southern Lights, provide a dazzling light show to people living in the polar regions. Shimmering curtains of green and red undulate across the sky like a living thing. New research shows that ...
Astronomy
Jul 21, 2011
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Take a bunch of fast-moving electrons, place them in orbit and then hit them with the shock waves from a solar storm. What do you get? Killer electrons. That's the shocking recipe revealed by ESA's Cluster mission.
Space Exploration
Mar 11, 2010
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The University of Colorado at Boulder has been awarded $840,000 from the National Science Foundation for students to build a tiny spacecraft to observe energetic particles in space that should give scientists ...
Space Exploration
Dec 29, 2009
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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
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Much like the Earth, our sun is a dynamic body with a complex—and sometimes violent—weather system. Solar storms eject highly energetic radiation that can impact our planet, forming strong auroras and disrupting power ...
Astronomy
Jan 25, 2024
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As they near the outer reaches of the solar system, for the past several years the two Voyager spacecraft have been sending back observations that challenge scientists' views of the physics at the edge of the heliosphere, ...
Space Exploration
Oct 29, 2012
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NASA has selected Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) to develop CuSPP, a CubeSat mission to study Solar Particles over the Earth's Poles. SwRI will also lead mission science operations and data analysis.
Space Exploration
Jun 18, 2014
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In the early hours of Sunday, September 4, Solar Orbiter flew by Venus for a gravity-assist maneuver that alters the spacecraft's orbit, getting it even closer to the sun. As if trying to get the orbiter's attention as it ...
Space Exploration
Sep 6, 2022
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