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☆ Solar Orbiter images capture bursts of activity on the sun’s surface
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-20 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Parker Solar Probe is poised to make the closest approach to the sun attempted by a spacecraft in late December, while Solar Orbiter is tasked with taking the closest-ever images of the sun’s surface. What’s more, the Solar Orbiter and Parker Solar Probe are studying the sun at close distances at an ideal time — during the peak of its annual cycle. “These new high-resolution maps from Solar Orbiter’s PHI instrument show the beauty of the Sun’s surface magnetic field and flows in great detail. A magnetogram shows the line-of-sight direction of the sun's magnetic field, which clusters around sunspots. Experts track increasing solar activity by counting how many sunspots appear on the sun’s surface.

Persons: Helioseismic, Parker, ”, Daniel Müller, Helioseismic Imager, European Space Agency Mark Miesch, Miesch, “, Elsayed Talaat Organizations: CNN, Solar, Orbiter, European Space Agency, NASA, Probe, Parker, Solar Orbiter, Space Agency, National Oceanic, Prediction, Cooperative Institute for Research, Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Scientists, NOAA

☆ NASA’s Europa Clipper mission will carry a poem and millions of names to ocean moon
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —When NASA’s Europa Clipper aims to launch on its highly anticipated mission to an icy moon in October, the spacecraft will carry a unique design etched with names, poetry and artwork symbolizing humanity. This latest mission is headed to Jupiter’s moon Europa, one of several lunar ocean worlds considered to be the best places to search for life beyond Earth. NASA/JPL-CaltechA planetary legacyEarly NASA probes such as Pioneer 10 and Voyager have continued to inspire the artwork that travels aboard other planetary science missions. “The content and design of Europa Clipper’s vault plate are swimming with meaning,” said Lori Glaze, director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division, in a statement. “We’ve packed a lot of thought and inspiration into this plate design, as we have into this mission itself,” said Robert Pappalardo, project scientist at JPL, in a statement.

Persons: Ada Limón, Ron Greeley, Drake, Frank Drake, ”, Lori Glaze, Robert Pappalardo, “ It’s Organizations: CNN, Clipper, Parker, Probe, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, ”, US, Arizona State University, University of California, NASA, JPL, Caltech, Planetary Science, Europa Clipper Locations: Pasadena , California, Europa, University of California Santa Cruz

☆ 2024 is a big year for the sun. This Helio year, see a total eclipse, solar storms, and NASA almost landing on our star.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-27 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The sun has a big year in 2024, starting with a total solar eclipse across the US. NASA's Parker Solar Probe will fly closer to the sun than any spacecraft ever, almost landing on it. One of the main events this year will be a historically cool total solar eclipse crossing the US in April. AdvertisementIn a total solar eclipse, the moon passes in front of the sun as seen from Earth, darkening the sky. For example, NASA is launching three rockets during the April total solar eclipse, loaded with instruments to study how the sudden darkness changes our upper atmosphere.

Persons: NASA's Parker, —, It's, Rodrigo Garrido, Rune Stoltz Bertinussen, Kelly Korreck, Connie Moore, NASA's, Nour Raouafi, Johns Hopkins, Steve Gribben, Raouafi, That's Organizations: Probe, Service, American Geophysical Union, Reuters, NASA, Parker Locations: San Francisco, Northern, Arizona, Australia, New Zealand, South America, Tromso, Norway

☆ A NASA probe got slammed by a massive eruption from the sun — and caught it all on camera
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Rebecca Cohen | Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A NASA probe caught a massive eruption from the sun on camera. The Parker Solar Probe flew right through a major coronal mass ejection last year. NASA said that the CME that struck the Parker Solar Probe was "one of the most powerful coronal mass ejections ever recorded." The Parker Solar Probe's mission to touch the sunAn artist's illustration of the Parker Solar Probe approaching the sun. NASAThe Parker Solar Probe was designed specifically to study the sun.

Persons: NASA's Parker, Parker, Johns Hopkins, it's, Jim Kinnison, We're, Russ Howard Organizations: NASA, Parker, Probe, Service, Solar Probe, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics, CME, NASA's Parker Solar Probe, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory Locations: Wall, Silicon, CMEs

☆ Mysterious flashes of light on Venus aren't what scientists thought, according to a new study. And it could mean safer missions to the planet in the future.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Sonam Sheth | Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

For years, scientists have observed flashes of light on Venus and thought they were lightning. That's good news for future missions to Venus since lightning would pose a threat to spacecraft. One reason the researchers don't think it's lightning is because of Venus' radio silence. AdvertisementAdvertisementThat's good news for future missions to Venus; if the flashes were lightning, it could pose a threat to probes entering the planet's atmosphere, according to NASA. AdvertisementAdvertisementNASA plans to send the DAVINCI probe to study Venus' clouds and geology in 2031 and hopefully retrieve other data when its atmospheric descent probe makes contact with the surface.

Persons: Venus Organizations: Service, NASA, of Geophysical Research, Cassini, Parker Solar Probe, Arizona State University, Steward, Venus Locations: Wall, Silicon, Soviet

☆ India's launches first sun-studying spacecraft, Aditya-L1
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —India launched its first spacecraft dedicated to studying the sun, building on a month of historic successes for the country’s civil space efforts. The spacecraft, called Aditya-L1, launched from Sriharikota, an island off the Bay of Bengal, at 11:50 a.m. Saturday local time (2:20 am ET). The successful liftoff of Aditya-L1 comes less than two weeks after India’s space agency, the Indian Space Research Organization, made history by landing its Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft on the lunar surface. India’s Aditya-L1 will add to information gathered on other missions designed to study the sun, including NASA’s ongoing Parker Solar Probe that in 2021 became the first spacecraft to “touch” the sun. India’s first dedicated solar mission adds to the country’s status as an emerging space superpower.

Persons: Aditya, India’s Organizations: CNN — India, Indian Space Research Organization, Aditya, Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Parker, Probe Locations: Bengal, India

☆ India sets September launch date for mission to study the sun
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A security guard stands behind the logo of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) at its headquarters in Bengaluru, India, June 12, 2019. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas//File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBENGALURU, Aug 28 (Reuters) - India's first space-based observatory to study the sun will be launched on Sept. 2, the country's space agency said on Monday. The Aditya-L1, India's first space-based solar probe, aims to study solar winds, which can cause disturbance on earth and are commonly seen as "auroras". "The total travel time from launch to L-1 (Langrange point) would take about four months for Aditya-L1," the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said in a post on X. It's latest moon mission had a budget of about $75 million- less than that of Hollywood space thriller "Gravity".

Persons: Francis Mascarenhas, Nivedita, Sakshi Dayal, Louise Heavens, Mike Harrison Organizations: Indian Space Research Organisation, ISRO, REUTERS, Rights, Twitter, Aditya, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru, India, Sriharikota

☆ Images from the Solar Orbiter spacecraft reveal tiny flares shooting from a 'hole' in the sun. They could explain how the sun blasts Earth with charged particles.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-26 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

AdvertisementAdvertisementPicoflares could be the source of the solar wind that's blasting EarthAn animation of the solar wind shows particles streaming from the sun towards Earth. That stream, called the "solar wind," gets supercharged when coronal holes or big solar flares are pointed at our planet. Seeing the sun up close, at smaller scales, could reveal its secretsImages from the Solar Orbiter are the closest ever taken of the sun. "Jets, in general, have previously been observed in the solar corona," Chitta, who led the Solar Orbiter study and a team at Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, told Space.com. NASA/SDONASA and the ESA launched Solar Orbiter in 2020, with a goal of studying these winds at their source.

Persons: Lakshmi Pradeep Chitta, NASA's Parker, Chitta, Space.com, it's, Andrei Zhukov Organizations: Service, Orbiter, Solar Orbiter, NASA Solar Dynamics, NASA, Lights, EUI Team, ESA, CSL, MPS, UCL, Probe, Jets, Solar, Max Planck Institute, Solar System Research, European Space Agency, Royal Observatory of Locations: Wall, Silicon, Royal Observatory of Belgium, Brussels

☆ Explainer: What is India's next space mission after moon landing?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Amit Dave Acquire Licensing RightsBENGALURU, Aug 25 (Reuters) - On the heels of the success of the Chandrayaan-3 moon landing, India's space agency has set a date for its next mission - this time to study the sun. It aims to study solar winds, which can cause disturbance on earth and are commonly seen as "auroras". In 2019, the government sanctioned the equivalent of about $46 million for the Aditya-L1 mission. The Indian space agency has earned a reputation for world-beating cost competitiveness in space engineering that executives and planners expect will boost its now-privatised space industry. The Chandrayaan-3 mission, which landed a spacecraft on the lunar south pole, had a budget of about $75 million.

Persons: Amit Dave, Joseph, Louis Lagrange, Nivedita, Giles Elgood Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Indian Space Research Organisation, European Space Agency, NASA, Orbiter, ISRO, Thomson Locations: Gujarat Science City, Ahmedabad, India, Sriharikota, French, Bengaluru

☆ Solar Orbiter observes jets of material escaping the sun
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —The Solar Orbiter mission has discovered jets of material rapidly releasing from the sun’s outer atmosphere. An artist's concept shows the Solar Orbiter spacecraft circling the sun. The advanced instruments aboard Solar Orbiter, as well as NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, are helping to unlock the biggest mysteries that remain about the sun. The sun’s magnetic field is so massive that it stretches beyond Pluto, providing a pathway for solar wind to travel directly across the solar system. Solar Orbiter works in tandem with Parker Solar Probe, which is orbiting the sun on a seven-year mission after launching in August 2018.

Persons: “, ”, Lakshmi Pradeep Chitta, Max Planck, NASA’s Parker, Andrei Zhukov, ESA’s Daniel Müller, Parker Organizations: CNN, Orbiter, NASA, European Space Agency, Solar, ESA, Max, Max Planck Institute, Solar System Research, Probe, Space, Royal Observatory of, Solar Orbiter, Parker Locations: Germany, Royal Observatory of Belgium

☆ The sun’s activity is peaking sooner than expected
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Every 11 years or so, the sun experiences periods of low and high solar activity, which is associated with the amount of sunspots on its surface. Over the course of a solar cycle, the sun will transition from a calm to an intense and active period. During the peak of activity, called solar maximum, the sun’s magnetic poles flip. A solar activity spikeThe current solar cycle, known as Solar Cycle 25, has been full of activity, more so than expected. The solar storms generated by the sun can affect electric power grids, GPS and aviation, and satellites in low-Earth orbit.

Persons: ”, Mark Miesch, “, Alex Young, ” Miesch, Scott McIntosh, Robert Leamon, Leamon, Miesch, Young, auroras, Bill Murtagh, ” Murtagh, NASA’s Parker, “ We’ve Organizations: CNN, National Oceanic, Prediction, NASA's Solar Dynamics, NASA, SpaceX, Heliophysics, Goddard Space Flight, GPS, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Goddard Planetary Heliophysics, University of Maryland, College Park, American University, Dynamics, Geological Survey, Probe Locations: Boulder , Colorado, Greenbelt , Maryland, Baltimore County, New Mexico , Missouri, North Carolina, California, United States, England, United Kingdom, Alaska, Canada, Iceland, Norway, Scandinavia, Michigan, Upper Midwest, Pacific, Quebec

☆ Ocean exploration: The benefits and risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Ocean secretsA bioluminescent jellyfish is shown in an image taken during exploration of the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument. NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration/APThe deep ocean is an alien landscape that scientists have only just begun to understand. So much remains to be explored because reaching the bottom of the ocean is an incredibly difficult task. But the ocean depths have much to offer, including lifesaving compounds and the secrets of how life on Earth evolved. The event is nearly 10 months away, but people are already anticipating the total solar eclipse that will pass over Mexico, the US and Canada on April 8, 2024.

Persons: Miles, hasn’t, Jiang Feibo, NASA’s Parker, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, Marianas Trench, NOAA, of Ocean Exploration, University of Cambridge, China News Service, CNN Space, Science Locations: Africa, Mexico, Canada, England, Trumpington, Germany, Rome, Lhasa, Tibet, Bermuda, France

☆ A violent collision likely created the Geminids meteor shower
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —The Geminid meteor shower, which lights up the sky each December, is one of the most active and dependable celestial displays of the year. Now, astronomers using NASA’s Parker Solar Probe have gained more insight into the underlying cause of the Geminids. The meteor shower was first recorded in 1862 and appears to radiate from the Gemini constellation. The Geminid meteor shower streaks across the night sky over the Lhasa River in Tibet on December 14, 2022. It’s the first asteroid to be associated with a meteor shower, and it measures about 3.17 miles (5.10 kilometers) across.

Persons: NASA’s, it’s, “, ”, Jamey Szalay, Szalay, Jiang Feibo, Phaethon, Fred Whipple, Helios Organizations: CNN, Probe, NASA, Princeton University, Science, Parker, China News Service Locations: Lhasa, Tibet

☆ Astronomers discover the fastest runaway stars in our galaxy racing away at over 5 million mph
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Astronomers found two renegades, runaway white dwarf stars on an escape route out of our galaxy. These runaway stars are on a one-way ticket out of our galaxy. Runaway stars racing away at breakneck speedsIn the new study, astronomers using data from the European Space Agency's Gaia survey identified two runaway stars with the fastest radial velocities ever seen. Two white dwarf stars orbiting each other can trigger an especially enormous explosion called a D^6 supernova. The first explosion kicks off when one of the white dwarf stars accumulates too much helium gas, which triggers a thermonuclear explosion, reported Starr.

Persons: —, Parker, Juan Ruiz Paramo, Tod Strohmayer, Dana Berry, Chandra X, Michelle Starr, Starr Organizations: renegades, Service, Probe, Parker, NASA, Ray, Science, Astrophysics

☆ Meet the mystery species that buried their dead long before humans
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

And Homo naledi was added to the family tree in 2013 after cave explorers tipped off researchers that there might be something promising within the dangerous depths of the Rising Star cave system. Mark Thiessen/National GeographicA team of explorers has uncovered evidence that Homo naledi buried their dead and carved symbols on cave walls at least 100,000 years before modern humans. Across the universeAstronomers using the Webb telescope discovered complex organic molecules in a galaxy located over 12 billion light-years away. Doyle/NASA/ESA/CSAThe James Webb Space Telescope peered into a galaxy located more than 12 billion light-years away and spied the most distant organic molecules ever detected. — A bright new supernova appeared in the Pinwheel Galaxy, and a telescope in Hawaii captured a dazzling image of the stellar explosion.

Persons: Matthew Berger, —, Homo, paleoartist John Gurche, Mark Thiessen, naledi, Webb, Doyle, James Webb, Einstein, Dino, dino, Iani smithi, Janus, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, UNESCO, Geographic, Cincinnati Zoo, Botanical, NASA, ESA, Parker, Probe, Drassm, Tunisia’s Skerki Bank, Sonar, CNN Space, Science Locations: South Africa, Johannesburg, Spain, Utah, North America, Tunisia, Italy’s, Tunisia’s, Costa Rican, Great Britain, Hawaii

☆ First mission to ‘touch’ the sun catches the solar wind
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The slower solar wind, located in the same plane of the solar system as Earth, flows at a calmer 249 miles per second (400 kilometers per second). This flip causes the coronal holes to appear across the sun’s surface and release bursts of solar wind directly toward Earth. JHU Applied Physics Laboratory/NASA's Goddard Space Flight CenterUnderstanding the source of the solar wind can help scientists better predict space weather and solar storms that can affect Earth. Fortunately, Parker Solar Probe and a separate mission, Solar Orbiter, are perfectly poised to observe the sun’s powerful, dynamic forces at play. “There was some consternation at the beginning of the solar probe mission that we’re going to launch this thing right into the quietest, most dull part of the solar cycle,” Bale said.

Persons: Eugene Parker, Parker, ”, James Drake, “ That’s, Stuart D, Bale, ” Parker, ” Bale Organizations: CNN, Parker, Probe, JHU, Physics Laboratory, Space, University of Maryland, College Park, University of California, Orbiter, Parker Solar Probe Locations: Berkeley

☆ Solar telescope’s images reveal the sun’s surface like never before
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —New images of the sun’s surface captured by a powerful ground-based solar telescope have revealed sunspots and other features in unprecedented detail. The eight images, released on May 19, were taken using the National Science Foundation’s Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, a 4-meter (13.1-foot) telescope located on the island of Maui in Hawaii. Although the sun is becoming increasingly active as the July 2025 solar maximum — the peak of the sun’s 11-year cycle — draws closer, the photos showcase the quieter aspects of the solar surface. Bright hot plasma flows upward on the sun’s surface, while darker, cooler plasma flows down. NSF/AURA/NSOThe Inouye Solar Telescope also glimpsed “light bridges,” bright solar features that span the darkest region of a sunspot.

☆ The sun is getting more active than it has for a decade — and it could lead to power outages, grounded flights, and stunning auroras
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

That motion, called convection, is what creates strong magnetic fields at the poles and smaller, local magnetic fields at the surface of the sun. That instability causes havoc in the magnetic fields at the surface of the sun, which become much more active. NASA/Solar Dynamics ObservatoryAs the magnetic fields become more confused, bigger sun spots can appear on the surface of the sun. As the sun's local magnetic fields get more tangled and crash into each other, they can explode. "The aurora oval that sits up over the northern and southern poles is a result of currents flowing in the Earth's atmosphere," Owens said.

☆ The sun is about to get more active than it has for a decade — and it could lead to power outages, grounded flights, and stunning auroras
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

That motion, called convection, is what creates strong magnetic fields at the poles and smaller, local magnetic fields at the surface of the sun. That instability causes havoc in the magnetic fields at the surface of the sun, which become much more active. As the sun's local magnetic fields get more tangled and crash into each other, they can explode. The worst solar storm we've seen happened in 1859. But as SpaceX and NASA aim to ramp up missions in coming years, they will need to prepare for solar storms.

☆ NASA to name solar scientist as agency's science chief, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - NASA has picked a longtime solar scientist who heads its heliophysics division to become the U.S. space agency's science chief, according two people familiar with the decision. Nicola Fox, former top scientist on the Parker Solar Probe mission studying the sun, will be named this week as NASA's associate administrator for the agency's Science Mission Directorate, said the two sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the official announcement. Fox will lead NASA's science directorate, a unit with an annual budget of roughly $7 billion that oversees some of the agency's best-known programs from the robotic hunts for past life on Mars to exploring distant galaxies with the James Webb Space Telescope. Fox will succeed Thomas Zurbuchen, a Swiss-American astrophysicist who had led the directorate since 2016 before his retirement in December. Sandra Connelly, formerly Zurbuchen's deputy, has been leading the directorate in an acting capacity.

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