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Humans May Have Arrived on the Sun's '4-Yard Line'

NASA awaits confirmation of historic solar mission on Christmas Eve

(Newser) - Confirmation awaits, but NASA scientists appear to have pulled off a remarkable Christmas Eve voyage on two fronts:
  • The sun: The space agency's Parker Solar Probe by now should have wrapped up a flight to within 3.8 million miles of the sun, the closest any craft has ever
...

'Not Done Yet!' The Sun Emits Another Massive Solar Flare

This one appears to have only glanced Earth, so don't expect amazing auroras

(Newser) - The sun produced its biggest flare in nearly two decades Tuesday, just days after severe solar storms pummeled Earth and created dazzling northern lights in unaccustomed places, per the AP . "Not done yet!" the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced in an update. It's the biggest flare...

Eclipse Watchers, Consider Wearing Red or Green

No, it's not Christmas in April—it's the best way to witness the 'Purkinje effect'

(Newser) - Warnings have been issued over the upcoming solar eclipse on Monday, with some areas even calling for a state of emergency . Now, a much more intriguing (and fun) phenomenon tied to the celestial event—one that involves viewers donning red and green outfits for their viewing parties to maximize the...

Scientists Warm Up to Idea on Cooling Down the Earth

Solar geoengineering projects that involve deflecting the sun's rays get a second look

(Newser) - Three and a half decades ago, British physicist John Latham raised the wild idea of injecting droplets of seawater into clouds to brighten them, increasing their reflection of solar radiation and thereby cooling the planet. He suggested 1,000 unmanned vessels could sail the oceans, spraying water into the air....

Scientists Envision a Massive Space Umbrella

Idea is to protect us from the sun's solar radiation

(Newser) - Sometimes, proposals to keep the Earth cool are too complicated for non-scientists to understand. And sometimes, they're like this one: "the equivalent of a giant beach umbrella, floating in outer space." That's from the New York Times in its coverage of a proposal being floated by...

Probe Survives Massive Solar Eruption, Proves a Theory

Parker Solar Probe observes a coronal mass ejection clear dust 'like a vacuum cleaner'

(Newser) - A solar probe has survived flying through a huge solar eruption, or what NASA is calling "one of the most powerful coronal mass ejections (CMEs) ever recorded." The Parker Solar Probe , which has flown closer to the sun's surface than any other spacecraft, encountered and filmed the...

Not Quite a Star, Not Quite a Planet, but Hotter Than the Sun

Scientists discover brown dwarf that's up to 90 times the size of Jupiter, nearly 14K degrees

(Newser) - Israeli researchers have stumbled on a celestial object that "is seriously confronting our notions of what's possible in the universe." That's per Science Alert , which reports on the discovery of a sweltering brown dwarf —an object that falls somewhere between planet and star, but which...

NASA Catches the Sun 'Smiling'
The Sun May Be
Laughing at Us
Oct 31, 2022 8:59 AM CDT

The Sun May Be Laughing at Us

Or at least 'smiling,' as NASA captions an odd satellite image

(Newser) - A NASA satellite has captured an odd image of the sun—it looks for all the world as if our famous star is "smiling," as the space agency puts it in a tweet . NASA explains that the dark patches making up the image are "known as coronal...

NASA Spacecraft Officially 'Touched' the Sun
'Humanity Has
Touched the Sun' 
Dec 15, 2021 8:04 AM CST

'Humanity Has Touched the Sun'

Scientists confirm the Parker Solar Probe flew through the corona

(Newser) - A NASA spacecraft has officially "touched" the sun, plunging through the unexplored solar atmosphere known as the corona. The Parker Solar Probe actually flew through the corona in April during the spacecraft’s eighth close approach to the sun. Scientists said it took a few months to get the...

Sun Goes Down on 2020 in Northernmost US Town

Utqiagvik won't see another sunrise for 66 days

(Newser) - The sun has gone down on 2020 in America's northernmost town. In Utqiagvik, Alaska, formerly known as Barrow , the sun went down at 1:29pm Wednesday after being up for 34 minutes and it won't be seen again until Jan. 23, the Washington Post reports. But the town'...

These Are the Closest Images of the Sun Yet

'Campfires' might explain why the sun's outer atmosphere burns hotter than the surface

(Newser) - Fly dangerously close to the sun, and what do you see? "Campfires." That's what scientists have dubbed the small solar flares seen in new NASA photos —the closest ever taken of the sun's surface, the Guardian reports. "The campfires are little relatives of the...

Here Comes the Sun—10 Years of It, in One Hour

NASA releases hypnotizing film showing a decade of our resident star

(Newser) - You're not supposed to stare at the sun, but a new NASA film lets you safely do so for an entire hour. Per the Guardian , the space agency has released a decade's worth of "mesmerizing" footage of our resident star, taken from February 2010 all the way...

Solar Orbiter Begins Historic Mission

Spacecraft will provide first glimpses of sun's pole

(Newser) - Europe and NASA's Solar Orbiter rocketed into space Sunday night on an unprecedented mission to capture the first pictures of the sun's elusive poles. The $1.5 billion spacecraft will join NASA's Parker Solar Probe, launched 1.5 years ago, in coming perilously close to the sun...

Mercury Puts on Rare Show For Us Next Week
Mercury Making a Rare Trip.
Here's How to Watch
UPDATED
Nov 11, 2019 8:42 AM CST

Mercury Making a Rare Trip. Here's How to Watch

It's currently making a transit across the sun

(Newser) - Mercury is in the middle of a rare trip across the sun, and almost everyone in the US should be able to catch at least a glimpse—with modest gear and safety protections. The official term is a "transit," and Mercury showed up as a small black dot...

NASA Shares Image of Halloween-ish Sun
Sun Gets in Halloween Spirit
Oct 28, 2019 6:11 AM CDT

Sun Gets in Halloween Spirit

NASA shares image of it looking like a jack-o-lantern

(Newser) - Three days until Halloween, and NASA is reminding everyone by sharing an image of the sun doing its best impression of a jack-o-lantern. The space agency shared the image, taken Oct. 8 by its Solar Dynamics Observatory satellite, on Sunday, reports Fox News . "Even our star celebrates the spooky...

A 'Proud Moment' for History-Making Space Probe

Parker Solar Probe just got closer to the sun than any other spacecraft ever has

(Newser) - NASA's Parker Solar Probe is now closer to the sun than any spacecraft has ever gotten. Parker on Monday surpassed the record of 26.6 million miles set by Helios 2 back in 1976, the AP reports—and it will keep getting closer to the sun until it flies...

NASA Heads Toward the Sun
NASA Heads
Toward the Sun 
Aug 12, 2018 5:45 AM CDT

NASA Heads Toward the Sun

Space agency launches Parker Solar Probe to get closer than ever to our star

(Newser) - A NASA spacecraft zoomed toward the sun Sunday on an unprecedented quest to get closer to our star than anything ever sent before. As soon as this fall, the Parker Solar Probe will fly straight through the wispy edges of the sun's corona that was visible during last August'...

NASA Offers Next Best Thing to Touching the Sun

Fly your name to our star instead

(Newser) - NASA will fly you to the sun—or at least your name. From now until April 27, NASA is accepting online submissions for this hottest ticket in town, which is free. The names—including that of pitchman William Shatner —will be included on a microchip to be sent on...

One-Two Punch From the Sun Knocks Out Radios

X9-level solar flare was preceded by weaker one on Wednesday

(Newser) - In what one space scientist says is "just part of living with a star," two solar events rocked the cosmos Wednesday, one of them strong enough to knock out radio communications for up to an hour. Scientific American reports on a pair of X-class solar flares (the most...

People Are Freaking Out About 2017 Solar Eclipse

It's predicted to be a once-in-a-lifetime event

(Newser) - It's still 10 months away, but sky gazers are already bursting with excitement—and booking vacations—over what is predicted to be "one of the most spectacular and widely accessible solar shows of our lifetime," per Mother Nature Network . On Aug. 21, 2017, the US will be...

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