Solar Astronomy
Parker Solar Probe Flies Close Enough to the Sun to See the Source of the Fast Solar Wind
Where does the solar wind come from? That's a question solar physicists have wanted an answer to for decades. Now,…
New Detailed Images of the Sun from the World’s Most Powerful Ground-Based Solar Telescope
Our Sun continues to demonstrate its awesome power in a breathtaking collection of recent images taken by the U.S. National…
China’s New Solar Observatory is Almost Ready for its Trials
There's a new solar observing facility taking shape in China. It lies far up on a mountain near Mangya City…
Solar Orbiter Continues to Get Closer to the Sun, Revealing More and More With Each Pass
On April 10th, ESA's Solar Orbiter made its closest flyby of the Sun, coming to within just 29% of the…
NASA Restores a Spacecraft by Turning it Off and Then On Again
When faced with a potentially mission-ending problem with NASA’s 15-year-old Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) spacecraft, engineers performed a time-honored procedure…
Birds use Dynamic Soaring to Pick Up Velocity. We Could Use a Similar Trick to Go Interstellar
A new proposal for an interstellar mission shows how a solar sail could use the same technique birds do to…
NASA Tests a Solar Sail Segment of its Enormous Solar Cruiser Mission
A team led by NASA Marshall was selected to build a technology demonstrator called the Solar Cruiser to mature solar…
Solar Orbiter Records a Stunning Timelapse of Solar Activity as it Completes its Latest Flyby
The sun is currently sleeping. Its surface and corona are relatively quiet as it prepares to ramp up for an…
Solar Orbiter Captures the First Ever Image of a Magnetic Solar Switchback on the Sun
On March 25, 2022, the ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter spacecraft closed in on the Sun, getting ready to study it during…
Coronal Loops Might Not Be Loops At All
We've all seen the gorgeous images and videos of coronal loops. They're curved magnetic forms that force brightly glowing plasma…