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Earth Is Farthest From the Sun Today

Aphelion puts planet 1.5M miles farther away than usual

(Newser) - It may not feel like it to millions of sweltering Americans, but the sun is now as far away from the Earth as it's going to get this year. Our planet reaches a point in its orbit called the aphelion today, putting it 94.5 million miles away from...

Venus Making Its Sun Transit
 Venus Making Its Sun Transit 
Jun 5, 2012 7:53 PM CDT

Venus Making Its Sun Transit

It's the last time this century

(Newser) - Some nice images are coming in from the rare pass of Venus in front of the sun, and NASA TV is covering the event live here . MSNBC is rounding up other images here . If you missed the anticipatory buzz, know that this won't happen again for about 100 years.

What We Can Learn From Venus' Transit

Phenomenon could help us identify exoplanets

(Newser) - Astronomers have identified some 2,000 possible far-off worlds called exoplanets, and today could mark a milestone in the quest to confirm their findings. The transit of Venus across the sun could help us learn about the changes in light caused by a planet passing its star—and this knowledge...

How to Watch Today's Transit of Venus

Last time until 2117

(Newser) - Tuesday night Bingo will have to wait: Barring the discovery of some fountain of youth, today is the last chance you'll get to watch the second planet cross the sun in a simple, twice-a-century phenomenon called the transit of Venus. All the usual rules apply, notes the Wall Street ...

Venus to Cross Sun for Last Time This Century

 Venus to Cross 
 Sun for Last Time 
 This Century 
in case you missed it
Jun 2, 2012 12:43 PM CDT

Venus to Cross Sun for Last Time This Century

Transit occurs Tuesday; next one in 2117

(Newser) - This Tuesday, Venus will move between the Earth and the sun—and you may want to catch it now, because you probably won't be around when it happens again in 2117. The event will be visible throughout the US shortly before sunset. On the East Coast, you'll want...

For Drinkable Water, Add ... Dirt?

And maybe some salt: Scientists propose simple fix for world crisis

(Newser) - One in 6 people in the world faces a clean-water shortage, according to the United Nations—so scientists are proposing a quick fix. Dirty water can be rendered drinkable using a few odd ingredients: Sun, salt, dirt, and lime, NPR reports. The sun's rays can kill the germs in...

Solar Storm 'Hitting Us in Nose'

Storm slammed into Earth this morning, could cause disruptions

(Newser) - While most of us were busily counting sheep or howling at the nearly-full moon last night, plasma and charged particles produced by Tuesday night's massive solar flares were hurtling toward the planet at 4 million mph, reports Space.com . This material, the largest coronal mass ejection (CME) in five...

Huge Solar Flare Erupts on Sun
 Huge Solar Flare Erupts on Sun 
Mar 7, 2012 8:28 AM CST

Huge Solar Flare Erupts on Sun

Huge explosion has potential to disrupt communication across Earth

(Newser) - The sun blasted out a massive solar flare last night, one that could have the potential to cause blackouts and other problems here on Earth, the Washington Post reports. The flare was an X5-class, the strongest category of flare, and, according to NOAA, "one of the largest solar flares...

Europe Planning Mission to the Sun

Solar orbiter to come within 26m miles of sun

(Newser) - The European Space Agency is planning to send a probe much closer to the sun than any before it. The Solar Orbiter mission, to be launched in 2017, will send a heavily heat-shielded spacecraft to within 26 million miles of the sun—10 million miles closer than Mercury. The probe,...

Scientists Discover Way to Predict Sunspots

Researchers say they can provide 48 hours warning

(Newser) - Maybe we'll eventually be able to cross off solar flares as a possible way the world ends. Scientists at Stanford say they've developed a system to predict dangerous sunspots two days before they erupt, reports the San Francisco Chronicle . Using satellite data, they can detect the rumblings of...

Space Weather: Solar Storms Can Be Disastrous, Scientists Write
 Beware of 'Space Weather' 
opinion
Jun 17, 2011 3:19 PM CDT

Beware of 'Space Weather'

Solar storms can be disastrous—but we can protect ourselves

(Newser) - It’s not just the weather on Earth we need to worry about—there are storms in space, too, and they can pose a serious threat if we’re not prepared. Recent years have been quiet around the sun, but it’s about to reach the height of its magnetic...

Sun May Soon Enter Long Quiet Phase

Sunspot activity looks to be petering out for a while

(Newser) - If we make it past 2012 , we might not be totally out of the woods when it comes to the sun. The next 11-year cycle of increased sunspot activity—expected around 2020—may be a few years late, be less powerful than anticipated, or might not happen at all, according...

Giant Asteroid Now Stalking Earth Around Sun
Giant Asteroid Now Stalking Earth Around Sun
in case you missed it
Apr 23, 2011 7:00 PM CDT

Giant Asteroid Now Stalking Earth Around Sun

But Asteroid 2010 SO16 has an unusual 'horseshoe' orbit

(Newser) - Earth has a new follower: Asteroid 2010 SO16, which has joined the Earth's path around the sun and could follow it for the next 120,000 to 1 million years, scientists say. But there's one odd thing about the asteroid, which just so happens to be the largest...

For First Time, We Can See Whole Sun

 For First Time,
 We Can See 
 Whole Sun 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Feb 12, 2011 8:23 AM CST

For First Time, We Can See Whole Sun

Satellites on opposite sides finally permit us to see the entire surface

(Newser) - Two satellites launched in 2006 reached their final destinations this week, giving us, for the first time ever, the ability to see the entire sun. The Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) spacecraft are on opposite sides of the sun, and will continue to provide a complete view of the sun’...

Did Greenland Sun Rise 2 Days Early?

Reports say it did—but is global warming to blame?

(Newser) - Residents of Ilulissat, Greenland, live in darkness for a large chunk of winter—but that chunk was two days shorter this year. The sun reportedly rose on Jan. 11, instead of its normal date of Jan. 13, the Huffington Post reports. Of course, theories were quick to surface, and one...

Meet the Sun's New Owner
 Meet the Sun's New Owner 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Dec 5, 2010 7:29 AM CST

Meet the Sun's New Owner

Direct all future weather complaints to a woman in Galicia, Spain

(Newser) - A Spanish woman has filed a claim with her local notary public establishing her as owner of ... the sun. "I did it, but anyone else could have done it, it simply occurred to me first," says Angeles Duran. She notes that an international agreement states no country can...

Sun Not to Blame for Rising Temperatures

Greenhouse gasses 10 times more powerful than sun

(Newser) - You can’t blame the warming planet on the sun. In a truly perplexing discovery, researchers have found that when the sun is at the dimmest point of its 11-year-cycle—like say, last December—the Earth is actually warmed the most. “When I first saw the results, I thought...

Northern Lights Head South—for 1 Night

Aurora borealis may be visible in northern US tonight

(Newser) - Thanks to a plasma eruption that roiled the surface of the sun, residents of the northern US and Canada may be able to enjoy a spectacular show tonight—the Northern Lights. "This eruption is directed right at us, and is expected to get here early in the day on...

Total Solar Eclipse Tomorrow (But Few Will See It)

Only those in the Southern Hemisphere get a glimpse

(Newser) - A total eclipse of the sun occurs tomorrow, but don't be so quick to take out your special viewing glasses. Unlike recent solar eclipses, this year's complete blotting out of the sun will be visible only in a narrow slice of the Southern Hemisphere. The spectacle begins at sunrise some...

The Sun Plays Music: Scientists
 The Sun Plays Music: Scientists  
in case you missed it
Jun 26, 2010 7:00 PM CDT

The Sun Plays Music: Scientists

Giant magnetic fields vibrate like guitar strings

(Newser) - The sun produces its own music, and scientists have been able to re-create and record it, the Telegraph reports. Astronomers analyzed magnetic loops that vibrate around the sun's atmosphere and found the "coronal loops" move—a little like violin strings, a little like wind inside a flute. By taking...

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