Universe TodaySpace and astronomy news

Login
  • Login
  • Home
  • Members
  • Guide to Space
  • Carnival
  • Photos
  • Videos
  • Forum
  • Contact
  • Privacy

Astronomy, Solar Astronomy

Unexpected Solar Flare is Also the Largest in Twelve Years

11 Sep , 2017 by Matt Williams

The largest solar flare in twelve years was recently witnessed by a team of UK scientists, and could teach us a great deal about predicting space weather

Featured, Institute for Solar Physics, Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, La Palma, Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, solar flare, Swedish Solar Telescope, X-class

News, Solar Astronomy, sun

Solar Probe Plus Will ‘Touch’ The Sun

30 Mar , 2017 by Matt Williams

The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and Draper are helping NASA to develop the Solar Probe Plus, the first spacecraft that will “touch”the face of the Sun.

CfA, coronal mass ejection, Featured, Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, solar flare, solar probe, solar probe plus, the sun
What Was The Carrington Event?

Guide to Space

What Was the Carrington Event?

17 Jan , 2017 by Fraser Cain

In 1859, the Sun gave off the most powerful solar flare on record. A blast of radiation and particles so strong it fried electrical wires and set telegraph towers on fire.

What would happen if a solar storm of this magnitude happened today? It would be a very bad day indeed.

Podcast (audio): Download (Duration: 7:32 — 2.7MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

Podcast (video): Download (Duration: 7:34 — 98.7MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

aurora, aurora borealis, Carrington, Carrington event, CME, corona, coronal mass ejection, disaster, Earth, electric grid, emp, Featured, flare, geomagnetic storm, grid, magnetic field, magnetic storm, NASA, northern lights, Science, SDO, solar, solar flare, solar radiation, solar storm, solar storm of 1859, solar storm warning, Solar System, solar winds, space videos, Space Weather, spaceweather, storm, sun

Astronomy, Guide to Space

How Can You see the Northern Lights?

25 Sep , 2016 by Matt Williams

The northern lights are an amazing thing to behold, and can be seen regularly from locations spanning from Siberia and Alaska to Northern Canada and Scandinavia.

Aurora Australis, aurora borealis, Bow shock, coronal mass ejection, Featured, magnetic field, magnetosphere, northern lights, solar flare, sunspots
This image from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) image shows large magnetically active regions and a pair of curving erupting prominences on June 28, 2000 during the current solar cycle 23 maximum. Prominences are huge clouds of relatively cool dense plasma suspended in the Sun's hot, thin corona. Magnetically active regions cause the principal total solar irradiance variations during each solar cycle. The hottest areas appear almost white, while the darker red areas indicate cooler temperatures. Credit: NASA & European Space Agency (ESA)

Guide to Space, sun

The Sun

27 Sep , 2015 by Matt Williams

The Sun has always been the center of the Universe for humanity. However, the nature, composition and lifespan of the Sun are things we’ve only come to understand in relatively recent times.

albert einstein, chromosphere, corona, Earth, heliocentric universe, Isaac Newton, Lagrangian point, lord kelvin, Main Sequence Stars, milky way galaxy, Nicolaus Copernicus, solar flare, solar wind, the sun

Missions, NASA, Science, Solar Astronomy, Solar System, Stars, sun

Solar ‘Bombs’ And Mini-Tornadoes Spotted By Sun-Watching Spacecraft

17 Oct , 2014 by Elizabeth Howell

My, the Sun is a violent place. I mean, we knew that already, but there’s even more evidence for that using new data from a brand-new NASA spacecraft. There’s talk now about tornadoes and jets and even “bombs” swirling amid our Sun’s gassy environment. A huge set of results from NASA’s Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph […]

corona, coronal mass ejection, Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph, iris, solar flare, solar heating

sun, Videos

NASA Explains: The Difference Between CMEs and Solar Flares

22 Sep , 2014 by Nancy Atkinson

This is a question we are often asked: what is the difference between a coronal mass ejection (CME) and a solar flare? We discussed it in a recent astrophoto post, but today NASA put out a video with amazing graphics that explains it — and visualizes it — extremely well. “CMEs and solar flares are […]

CME, coronal mass ejection, NASA, solar flare, sun

Astrophotos, sun

Astrophoto: The Sun as a Work of Art

11 Sep , 2014 by Nancy Atkinson

Here’s a solar flare with a little flair added! Astrophotographer Rick Ellis from Toronto, Canada created this “artsy” Sun by using a series of photoshop filters and effects with a combination of two images from the Solar Dynamics Observatory taken on April 12, 2013. He tinkered with the contrast at specific color ranges, applied “equalization,” […]

solar flare, sun

NASA, Solar System, sun

Kapow! Moderate Solar Flare Erupts From The Sun, But Likely Won’t Affect Earth

25 Aug , 2014 by Elizabeth Howell

While this solar peak has been weaker than usual, from time to time we get a moderate punch from the Sun. Here’s an example — what NASA calls a “mid-level” solar flare blasting off the Sun at 8:16 a.m. EDT (1:16 p.m. UTC) yesterday (Aug. 26). While the related coronal mass ejection can cause auroras […]

M5, Solar Dynamics Observatory, solar flare

Earth, Solar Astronomy, Solar System, sun

Blast! Sun Pops Off A Moderate Solar Flare. Could Others Follow Soon?

10 Jul , 2014 by Elizabeth Howell

With a watchful NASA spacecraft capturing its moves, the Sun sent off a “mid-level” solar flare on Tuesday (July 8) that you can watch (over and over again) in the video above. The Solar Dynamics Observatory caught the explosion around 12:20 p.m. EDT (4:20 p.m. UTC), which led into a coronal mass ejection that sent […]

coronal mass ejection, solar flare
1 2 Next »

Weekly Email Newsletter from Fraser Cain

* indicates required

View previous campaigns.


© Copyright 2018    Universe Today TOP
Powered by Fraser Cain
Close Help make Universe Today better today! See no ads, get videos early, hang out with the team