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The northern and southern lights, which are usually confined to the Arctic and Antarctica, have generated awe and wonder for centuries. The northern lights were visible over St. Mary's lighthouse in Whitley Bay, England on Monday. The southern lights glowed over Lake Ellesmere on the outskirts of Christchurch, New Zealand on Monday. Over the next few years, the northern lights might appear further south more regularly, said Robert Massey, executive director at the Royal Astronomical Society. A National Weather Service employee took a photo of the northern lights in Maine on Sunday.

☆ Northern Lights Are Seen in Places Where They Normally Aren’t
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Livia Albeck-Ripka | Derrick Bryson Taylor | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The sky over an unusually wide swath of the northern hemisphere lit up with a brilliant display of color overnight into Monday morning, dazzling people across North America and Europe. The display was potentially visible as far south as Iowa in the United States, as well as in parts of southern England, scientists said. The phenomena, known as the aurora borealis or northern lights, occurs when particles emitted by the sun collide with particles that are already trapped around Earth’s magnetic field, and can often be seen from parts of Iceland, Canada and Alaska. But on Friday, the sun let off a large burst of energy, said Robert Steenburgh, a space scientist with the Space Weather Prediction Center at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (These bursts are also known as coronal mass ejections.)

☆ Defunct NASA spacecraft returns to Earth after 21 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A NASA satellite that observed solar flares and helped scientists understand the sun’s powerful bursts of energy will fall to Earth this week, almost 21 years after it was launched. The retired Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) spacecraft, which launched in 2002 and was decommissioned in 2018, is expected to reenter Earth’s atmosphere Wednesday at approximately 9:30 p.m. The risk of harm coming to anyone on Earth as a result of RHESSI’s return is low — approximately 1 in 2,467, according to NASA. From its former perch in low-Earth orbit, the satellite captured images of high-energy electrons that carry a large part of the energy released in solar flares, NASA said. NASA said that the agency, along with the Department of Defense, would monitor the satellite’s reentry into Earth’s atmosphere.

☆ Giant 'holes' dozens of times the size of our planet are appearing on the sun. Here's how they could affect Earth.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Two huge coronal holes, dozen of times the size of the Earth, have appeared on the sun. These coronal holes can spew solar winds at 1.8 million mph toward our planet, which can cause stunning auroras and disrupt satellites. Coronal holes aren't actually holes in the sunA coronal hole rotates across the face of the sun, streaming solar wind towards Earth, February 1, 2017. Coronal holes happen in the "corona," the atmosphere of the sun, and can only be seen in UV or X-ray light. We could see this month's coronal holes again next monthThe coronal hole came into view as the sun rotated.

☆ A second giant 'hole' has appeared on the sun, and it could send 1.8 million mph solar winds towards Earth
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

These 'holes' can send 1.8 million mph solar winds towards Earth. As this first 'hole' begins rotating away from us, a new giant coronal hole — about 18 to 20 Earths' across — has come into view. Coronal holes release solar winds into space which can damage satellites and reveal stunning auroras if they reach the Earth. The 'hole' is positioned close to the sun's equatorThe coronal hole came into view as the sun rotated. The solar winds can blast very fast solar winds, with speeds of more than 800 kilometers per second, Verscharen said.

That caused the Northern Lights, or aurora borealis, to make a rare appearance in skies across the US. The colorful lights were seen as far south as Arizona, much further than what was forecast. They normally occur in the Arctic, but powerful eruptions on the sun caused them to stretch as far south as Phoenix, Arizona before sunrise on Friday, according to images shared by photographers and skywatchers on social media. "Most people when they're seeing that far south... they're seeing it on the horizon," Young said. NWS La CrosseAnchorage, AlaskaAuroras in Anchorage, Alaska, on March 24, 2023.

The sun is sporting a giant coronal hole that could fit 20-30 Earths across, back-to-back. Coronal holes blast rapid solar winds into space that travel 500-800 kilometers per second. Coronal holes are cooler in temperature, so they don't glow as bright and therefore look black against the rest of the sun. In this case, the solar winds from this coronal hole are scheduled to reach Earth by the end of this week. But coronal holes — even large ones like this — are far less violent.

☆ Image from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope reveals a rare star preparing to explode and die in a supernova
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope captured a star getting ready to die in stunning detail. The image shows a rare Wolf-Rayet star, expelling its outer layers in the phase before a supernova. A Wolf-Rayet star is "among the most luminous, most massive, and most briefly-detectable stars known," according to NASA. Webb helps investigate a dusty cosmic mysteryThat cosmic dust is of great interest to astronomers. An artist's conception of the James Webb Space Telescope.

☆ NBA roundup: Zion Williamson's career night propels Pelicans
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY SportsDecember 29 - Zion Williamson scored his team's final 14 points as part of a career-high 43-point night as the host New Orleans Pelicans came from behind to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 119-118 on Wednesday night. Trey Murphy III added 21 points, CJ McCollum scored 20, Jonas Valanciunas had 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Naji Marshall scored 12 points as New Orleans won its fourth straight. Nikola Jokic had 40 points, Bones Hyland scored 20, Michael Porter Jr. 19 and Zeke Nnaji 14 for the Nuggets. Saddiq Bey poured in 28 points and added eight rebounds and four assists, while Bojan Bogdanovic had 14 points with five assists. LeBron James matched Butler for a game-high of 27 points, and also added nine rebounds with six assists, but committed six turnovers.

☆ How to stay safe in an extreme solar flare, where the sun bombards Earth with radiation and magnetic havoc
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Stay safe during a solar storm by preparing to lose power, printing out maps, and staying off planes. What is a solar flare and how do they affect Earth? CMEs primarily affect the magnetosphere, jostling Earth's magnetic field lines in an event called a geomagnetic storm, also known as a solar storm. NASAGetting ready for the possibility of a major solar flare isn't that different from getting ready for any other disaster. If you follow the basics of disaster preparedness, you'll probably be ready for a solar flare.

☆ How Fighter Pilots Survive Death-Defying Jet Ejections
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Daniel Gessner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Even in successful scenarios, 20% to 30% of fighter pilots suffer some sort of spinal fracture. In TV and movies, a fighter pilot ejecting from their jet comes across as a cut-and-dry procedure. About 20% to 30% of fighter pilots experience some sort of spinal fracture as a result. This entire process exerts 14 to 16 times the force of gravity on fighter pilots' bodies. And within two to four seconds, depending on what mode of flight you're in, you're going to have a full parachute.

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