Solar activity is declining—what to expect?

(Phys.org)—Is Earth slowly heading for a new ice age? Looking at the decreasing number of sunspots, it may seem that we are entering a nearly spotless solar cycle which could result in lower temperatures for decades. "The ...

Images from Sun's edge reveal origins of solar wind

Ever since the 1950s discovery of the solar wind - the constant flow of charged particles from the sun - there's been a stark disconnect between this outpouring and the sun itself. As it approaches Earth, the solar wind is ...

Does the solar magnetic field show a North-South divide?

A study of jets travelling through the sun's corona at speeds between 200-500 kilometres per second has shown that the fast-moving columns of plasma are deflected much more strongly by the sun's magnetic field in the northern ...

NOAA's DSCOVR: Offering a new view of the solar wind

There's a fascinating spot some 932,000 miles away from Earth where the gravity between the sun and Earth is perfectly balanced. This spot captures the attention of orbital engineers because a satellite can orbit this spot, ...

A look back at NASA solar missions

Twenty years ago, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, a cooperative effort between NASA and the European Space Agency, launched into space and revolutionized our study of the sun and a scientific discipline called heliophysics ...

Building to begin on Solar Probe Plus spacecraft

NASA's Solar Probe Plus mission—which will fly closer to the sun than any spacecraft has before—reached a major milestone last month when it successfully completed its Critical Design Review, or CDR.

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