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It Takes a Supercomputer to Properly Simulate a Neutron Star’s Surface
Neutron stars, the remains of massive stars that have imploded and gone supernova at the end of their life, can…
What Was the Carrington Event?
In 1859, the Sun gave off the most powerful solar flare on record. A blast of radiation and particles so…
Clear Skies Tonight? Go Out and See the Aurora
Talk of aurora is in the air. Our earlier story today by Elizabeth Howell alerted you to the possibility of…
This Was the Best Watched Solar Flare Ever
Are giant dragons flying out of the Sun? No, this is much more awesome than that: it's an image of…
Giant sunspot convulses but all quiet on the aurora front … for now
What a crazy sunspot cycle. Weeks go by with only a few tiny spots freckling the sun, then all at…
Watch the Sun Split Apart
Here's your amazing oh-my-gosh-space-is-so-cool video of the day -- a "canyon of fire" forming on the Sun after the liftoff…
These Are Really, Really Big Sunspots Facing Earth Right Now
Do you feel like you're in the firing gallery? These sunspots are practically square-on to Earth right now. Although they…
Yet Another X-Class Flare From AR 1748
Last night, as Commander Hadfield and the Expedition 35 crew were returning to Earth in their Soyuz spacecraft, the Sun…
AR1654 is a Monster Sunspot. (And It’s Aiming Our Way.)
Active Region 1654 on the Sun's western limb, seen by SDO on Jan. 11 (NASA/SDO/HMI team. Diagram by J. Major.)…
Incoming! CME On Its Way Toward Earth
As you read this, a huge cloud of charged solar particles is speeding toward our planet, a coronal mass ejection…