solar flare Archives - Universe Today

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.

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.

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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.

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)

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.

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 […]

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 […]

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,” […]

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 […]

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 […]

Ain’t Misbehavin’ – Turbulence, Solar Flares and Magnetism

22 May , 2013 by Tammy Plotner

What’s more fun than something that misbehaves? When it comes to solar dynamics, we know a lot, but there are many things we don’t yet understand. For example, when a particle filled solar flare lashes out from the Sun, its magnetic field lines can do some pretty unexpected things – like split apart and then […]

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