The heliosphere—made of solar wind, solar transients, and the interplanetary magnetic field—acts as our solar system's personal shield, protecting the planets from galactic cosmic rays. These extremely energetic particles ...
Astronomy
Mar 29, 2024
6
1007
We know of Mars as the red planet, for its surface and atmosphere is caked in endless swirling dust of rusted iron, the rusting action provided by the always-eager oxygen. But this was not always so.
Astrobiology
Jan 24, 2024
0
36
Before planets form around a young star, the protosolar disk is populated with innumerable planetesimals. Over time, these planetesimals combine to form planets, and the core accretion theory explains how that happens. But ...
Planetary Sciences
Jan 12, 2024
0
12
A study from an international team led by researchers from Nagoya University in Japan and the University of New Hampshire in the United States has revealed the importance of the Earth's upper atmosphere in determining how ...
Planetary Sciences
Oct 30, 2023
0
330
Did you know the Northern lights or Aurora Borealis are created when the mythical Finnish "firefox" runs so quickly across the snow that its tail causes sparks to fly into the night sky?
Planetary Sciences
Sep 21, 2023
0
1
Memories of solar impact from seven ESA spacecraft have been collected and analyzed in a first-of-its-kind study to better understand the radiation environment in space. Huge amounts of engineering data has been used to reveal ...
Space Exploration
Aug 11, 2023
0
8
Magnetosheath jets on Earth are plasma entities that have a higher dynamic pressure surrounding the plasma and can cause waves that transfer energy within such environments. Such jets also exist beyond Earth in the magnetosheath ...
NASA's Parker Solar Probe (PSP) has flown close enough to the sun to detect the fine structure of the solar wind close to where it is generated at the sun's surface, revealing details that are lost as the wind exits the corona ...
Astronomy
Jun 7, 2023
0
364
Over millennia, humans have observed and been inspired by beautiful displays of light bands dancing across dark night skies. Today, we call these lights the aurora: the aurora borealis in the northern hemisphere, and the ...
Planetary Sciences
Mar 29, 2023
0
11
Asteroid Didymos is spitting rocks out into space.
Planetary Sciences
Mar 16, 2023
0
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