Items tagged with Sun
Astronomers have discovered the closest-known black hole to Earth, at just 1600 light-years away. It is also the first clear detection of a dormant stellar-mass black hole in the Milky Way.
Stellar-mass black holes typically weigh in at approximately five to 100 times the mass of our Sun. These types of black holes...
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The Hinode spacecraft captured incredible footage of an annular eclipse using its X-ray Telescope. The international mission is led by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, with help from the European Space Agency, and NASA.
Solar eclipses are some of the most fascinating and stunning occurrences here on...
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An international team used the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) to discover three new near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) hiding behind the glare of the Sun. One of the asteroids discovered is the largest near-Earth asteroid spotted in the last 8 years.
It seems like new near-Earth asteroids are being discovered every other day...
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NASA tweeted a photo of the Sun smiling, which left some reminiscing of the iconic Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man from the movie Ghostbusters. However, in this image the giant marshmallow looks to be getting ready to be placed on a giant s'mores cookie.
The Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO) was the first mission to be...
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A new study by researchers at UC Riverside created detailed models on data from the solar system as it appears in modern day, as well alternatives to the solar system with a slightly different orbital path. One alternative solar system appeared to be effective in making Earth more habitable, by simply making Jupiter's...
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A geomagnetic storm watch is in effect for August 17-19 due to multiple coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that have departed from the Sun since August 14, 2022. The resultant disturbed solar wind field and geomagnetic responses are considered to be enough for a potential G3 (Strong) geomagnetic storm on August 18th, and...
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The Hubble Space Telescope captured data in 2019 that has led astronomers to conclude supergiant star Betelgeuse blew its top, literally. The star lost a large amount of its visible surface and produced a mammoth Surface Mass Ejection (SME).
To put just how massive this explosion was into perspective, our own Sun...
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The Earth just completed a full rotation in a little over a thousandth of a second shorter than its normal 24-hour rate. The record full spin occurred on June 29, 2022, and has some scientists concerned.
Our planet has been spinning faster recently. Back in 2020, Earth saw its shortest month ever measured since the...
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A gigantic sunspot that doubled in size in just 24 hours, is now facing Earth with the possibility of emitting a solar flare that could knock out communications on our humble rock.
Sunspots are darkened patches on the Sun caused by its magnetic field, according to NASA. These spots are often precursors to solar...
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A new study suggests that it may be possible to use free-floating planets to travel to distant galaxies. Irina Romanovskaya, a Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Houston Community College, believes that extraterrestrial civilizations may already use these rogue planets as a means of travel to explore and colonize...
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An X-class solar flare erupted on the Sun that caused a fierce X1.5-class solar flare on May 10th. The radiation from the flare ionized the top of Earth's atmosphere, instigating a shortwave radio blackout around the Atlantic Ocean and may have slung a complicated CME toward Earth.
In the last month, the Earth has...
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NASA believes it has solved a 60-year-old mystery pertaining to a process known as magnetic reconnection. Scientists with the space agency's Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission, or MMS, have developed a theory they believe explains how the most explosive type of magnetic reconnection occurs.
To put this in...
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The first solar eclipse of 2022 is nearly upon us, and with it will come a heavenly view of the sky. This particular one will be a partial solar eclipse, with the Moon shimmying its way between a chunk of the Sun and the Earth, blocking some of the light beams. The imperfect alignment can be breathtaking, resulting in...
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The Sun unleashed a fury of cannibals toward Earth, but there is no need to worry about being eaten alive. It is actually a "cannibal coronal mass ejection" caused by solar eruptions discharging from a singular sunspot.
Sunspot AR2975 has been detonating flares of electrically charged particles from the sun since...
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A new discovery of high-frequency-retrograde vorticity waves in the Sun defy all explanations. The discovery indicates that vortices on the surface of the Sun move at three times the speed as previously thought.
A group of researchers from New York University Abu Dhabi's (NYUAD) Center for Space Science recently...
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The European Space Agency's (ESA) Solar Orbiter captured an unprecedented image of the Sun earlier this month. The spacecraft was about 46.6 million miles (75 million km) away, or halfway between Earth and the Sun.
At the beginning of March, Solar Orbiter took several images of the burning star that lights and...
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The ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter is darting through space on its way to a historic close pass of the Sun. The spacecraft will pass the orbit of Mercury on its way to reaching its closest pass of the Sun, but is collecting valuable data in the meantime.
On Monday the Solar Orbiter passed directly between the Earth and the...
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A team of astronomers have found evidence of an exoplanet orbiting the closest star to our own Sun. The discovery was made using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (ESO's VLT) in Chile.
Last year NASA used a deep learning AI to discover 301 exoplanets that human eyes had previously missed. The...
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NASA's Space Place Art Challenge is a fun and creative way for kids to learn more about what lies beyond our own Earth. This month the contest is wanting young people to break out their creativeness and design their very own superhero, with a chance to be featured on the website.
There are many kids out there that...
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China turns up the heat on creating a super hot fusion reactor and sets a new world record in the process. Its nuclear fusion reaction lasted more than 17 minutes and reached a scorching temperature of 126 million degrees Fahrenheit.
China's Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) was built and...
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Astronomers watched as star EK Draconis ejected a massive burst of energy more powerful than anything scientists have viewed in our own solar system. The star is located dozens of lightyears from Earth, but it gives scientists a better idea of what is possible from our own Sun.
On December 7, NASA launched two new...
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The Parker Solar Probe is set to break its own impressive distance and speed records as it zips its way past the Sun. In its tenth of 24 planned trips around the Sun, the probe will again become the fastest human-made spacecraft to date.
NASA's Parker Solo Probe completed its swing past Venus on October 16th. It...
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