Researchers have made a major leap in solar physics by finding the first direct evidence of small-scale torsional Alfvén waves within the Sun’s corona. These elusive magnetic waves, first theorized in the 1940s, have long been suspected to play a key role in heating the Sun’s outer atmosphere. The findings,Continue Reading
The Sun’s polar regions remain one of the least explored areas in solar science. Space-based observatories and ground telescopes have given us extraordinary images of the Sun’s surface, atmosphere, and magnetic fields, but nearly all of those observations come from within the ecliptic plane — the narrow zone where EarthContinue Reading
The European Space Agency-led Solar Orbiter mission has split the flood of energetic particles flung out into space from the Sun into two groups, tracing each back to a different kind of outburst from our star. The Sun is the most energetic particle accelerator in the Solar System. It whipsContinue Reading
Scientists have devised a new method for mapping the spottiness of distant stars by using observations from NASA missions of orbiting planets crossing their stars’ faces. The model builds on a technique researchers have used for decades to study star spots. By improving astronomers’ understanding of spotty stars, the newContinue Reading
The highest-resolution images of a solar flare captured at the H-alpha wavelength (656.28 nm) may reshape how we understand the Sun’s magnetic architecture — and improve space weather forecasting. Using the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, built and operated by the NSF National Solar ObservatoryContinue Reading
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has directly observed magnetic reconnection in the Sun’s atmosphere for the first time, confirming decades-old theories about solar explosions. This discovery bridges small-scale events near Earth with massive solar eruptions that shape space weather. The data provides crucial insights to improve predictions of solar storms thatContinue Reading
The solar atmosphere, or corona, is far hotter than the Sun’s surface, a paradox that has puzzled scientists for decades. Furthermore, the constant outflow of plasma and magnetic fields from the Sun, known as the solar wind, is accelerated to incredible speeds. Turbulent dissipation – the process by which mechanicalContinue Reading
Thanks to its newly tilted orbit around the Sun, the European Space Agency-led Solar Orbiter spacecraft is the first to image the Sun’s poles from outside the ecliptic plane. Solar Orbiter’s unique viewing angle will change our understanding of the Sun’s magnetic field, the solar cycle and the workings ofContinue Reading
Scientists analyzing data from NASA’s CODEX (Coronal Diagnostic Experiment) investigation have successfully evaluated the instrument’s first images, revealing the speed and temperature of material flowing out from the Sun. These images, shared at a press event Tuesday at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, illustrate the Sun’s outerContinue Reading
The Sun’s corona — the outermost layer of its atmosphere, visible only during a total solar eclipse — has long intrigued scientists due to its extreme temperatures, violent eruptions, and large prominences. However, turbulence in the Earth’s atmosphere has caused image blur and hindered observations of the corona. A ground-breakingContinue Reading
