Solar Astronomy
TRAPPIST-1 Is Showing A Bit Too Much Flare
The TRAPPIST-1 star might flare too frequently and too violently for life to exist on the TRAPPIST planets.
Solar Probe Plus Will ‘Touch’ The Sun
The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and Draper are helping NASA to develop the Solar Probe Plus, the first spacecraft that will…
Either Stars are Strange, or There Are 234 Aliens Trying to Contact Us
Astronomers have found 234 stars that are acting suspiciously like signals sent by extra-terrestrials.
Seeking the Summer Solstice
Today marks the June solstice, as the Sun passes highest in the sky for observers across the northern hemisphere. Here's…
Watch Mercury Transit the Sun in Multiple Wavelengths
No one had a better view of the transit of Mercury across the Sun than the space-based Solar Dynamics Observatory,…
A Star With A Disk Of Water Ice? Meet HD 100546
Water ice in a disk surrounding a star might seem out of place, but the ice might be essential to…
New Horizons Did Amazing Work Before Even Arriving At Pluto
New Horizons collected 3 years of data during it's mission to Pluto and beyond, and that data is telling us…
Solar Storms Ignite Aurora On Jupiter
In 2011, a coronal mass ejection reached Jupiter and produced x-ray auroras hundreds of times brighter than Earth's auroras.
Sun-Like Star Shows Magnetic Field Was Key For Early Life On Earth
By studying the star Kappa Ceti, researchers have determined that the young Sun in our solar system was a much…
The Solar Heliospheric Observatory at 20
Flashback to 1995: Clinton was in the White House, Star Trek Voyager premiered, we all carried pagers in the pre-mobile…