Educational Science

'Mystery explosion' on sun launches coronal mass ejection at Mars

A mysterious explosion on the sun's far side has launched a blob of plasma and radiation that is forecast to slam into Mars. If the solar storm hits the Red Planet, it could trigger faint ultraviolet auroras and potentially erode part of the Martian atmosphere, according to experts. Earth-orbiting satellites...

How to make a solar eclipse viewer to safely watch the 'ring of fire' eclipse on Oct. 14

On Oct. 14, a rare ring of fire solar eclipse will be visible across nearly all of North, Central, and South America for the first time in years. While nearly everyone will have a chance to see at least part of the eclipse, viewers in nine states (southern Oregon, northeastern...

In a startling case of star-ception, our sun, which is a star, appears to have its own shooting stars streaking through its white-hot atmosphere. Technically, these solar shooting stars aren't stars at all — they're fireballs created by a phenomenon known as coronal rain. During this process, hot plasma cools...

Solar Orbiter probes how the sun generates solar wind

Solar scientists have spotted small-scale, short-lived jets of energy emerging from dark holes in the sun's outer atmosphere, or corona, for the first time. These so-called picojets could be supplying both energy and matter in the form of plasma to solar winds, high-speed outflows of hot gas from the sun...

Ancient superpowered solar storm that hit Earth 14,000 years ago is the 'biggest ever identified'

Earth was bombarded with an enormous dose of cosmic radiation more than 14,000 years ago, newly discovered tree rings reveal — and researchers suspect it was caused by an enormous, superpowered solar storm, the likes of which we have never seen before. In a new study published Oct. 9 in...

'Ring of fire' solar eclipse 2023: How to watch in-person (and virtually)

A ring of fire, or annular solar eclipse, will be visible from eight US states on Oct. 14, 2023 — the first time such a celestial view will be available in North America. During the event, sky-watchers across North, Central and South America will see a partial solar eclipse lasting...

Massive solar explosion felt on Earth, the moon and Mars simultaneously for the 1st time ever

On Oct. 28, 2021, a huge burst of plasma and magnetized particles erupted from the sun. The massive solar outburst washed over Earth, the moon and Mars, bathing them in radiation. And, for the first time, instruments on all three bodies measured the same event almost simultaneously. On Mars, the...

15 dazzling images of the sun

The sun's intense brightness makes it unsafe for us to get a detailed view of it by traditional means. So, for over 200 years, humans have relied on different modes of photography to safely glimpse the nuances of our star. Now, a range of telescopes and imagers capture the details,...

Watch: NASA spacecraft flies through a violent solar explosion for 1st time ever — and survives unscathed

NASA's Parker Solar Probe has become the first spacecraft to fly through a coronal mass ejection (CME) from the sun, and it captured the whole event on camera. The stunning video shows the spacecraft passing right through the massive solar eruption on Sept. 5, 2022. The probe soared through the...

Exactly where and when to see the 'ring of fire' solar eclipse this weekend

A partial solar eclipse will be visible across most of the Americas on Saturday, Oct. 14, when the moon will block up to 90% of the sun, depending on the viewer's location. For some, the view will include a rare ring of fire annular solar eclipse. It will be the...