Solar Astronomy
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…
A Colossal Flare Erupted From the Far Side of the Sun
Earlier this week the Sun erupted with a huge explosion, blasting solar particles millions of kilometers into space. The team…
During a Solar Flare, Dark Voids Move Down Towards the Sun. Now We Know Why
Solar flares are complex phenomena. They involve plasma, electromagnetic radiation across all wavelengths, activity in the Sun's atmosphere layers, and…
Parker Solar Probe Flies Through the Sun’s Outer Atmosphere for the First Time
For the first time ever, a spacecraft has flown through the Sun’s outer atmosphere. The Parker Solar Probe passed through…