Related topics: earth · sun · solar flares

Space weather could wreak havoc in gadget-driven world

A geomagnetic space storm sparked by a solar eruption like the one that flared toward Earth Tuesday is bound to strike again and could wreak havoc across the gadget-happy modern world, experts say.

Solar Cycle Driven by More than Sunspots

(PhysOrg.com) -- Challenging conventional wisdom, new research finds that the number of sunspots provides an incomplete measure of changes in the Sun's impact on Earth over the course of the 11-year solar cycle. The study, ...

Sun emits a solstice CME

On June 20, 2013, at 11:24 p.m., the sun erupted with an Earth-directed coronal mass ejection or CME, a solar phenomenon that can send billions of tons of particles into space that can reach Earth one to three days later. ...

One in, two out: Simulating more efficient solar cells

(Phys.org)—Using an exotic form of silicon could substantially improve the efficiency of solar cells, according to computer simulations by researchers at the University of California, Davis, and in Hungary. The work was ...

Noctilucent clouds get an early start

Every summer, something strange and wonderful happens high above the north pole. Ice crystals begin to cling to the smoky remains of meteors, forming electric-blue clouds with tendrils that ripple hypnotically against the ...

How big are sunspots?

The short answer? Really big. The long answer? Really, really big.

NASA sees Sun send out mid-level solar flare

The sun emitted a mid-level solar flare on July 19, 2012, beginning at 1:13 AM EDT and peaking at 1:58 AM. Solar flares are gigantic bursts of radiation that cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to harm humans on the ground, ...

Next solar maximum may be safest time for manned missions to Mars

Humans have long dreamed of traveling to Mars, and several nations and private organizations are developing plans for crewed Mars missions in the coming decades. But a recent study looking at the risks for astronauts going ...

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