Worrying new simulations show that a solar storm on par with the infamous Carrington Event could potentially wipe out every single satellite orbiting our planet, leaving us in a precarious and expensive predicament. And experts say such a powerful solar storm is inevitable and will hit our planet sooner or later. On Sept. 1, 1859, … Read more
Engineers have showcased a prototype electric vehicle (EV) that can drive for up to 40 miles (64 kilometers) per day using just solar power. The new solar-powered car, called the Aptera Launch Edition, also offers up to 400 miles (640 km) of range from a single charge via an electrical output, company representatives said in … Read more
We have some incredibly powerful telescopes that have given us spectacular views of the cosmos and allowed us to look back to the early days of the universe. These observatories, such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), are amazing feats of engineering that have required billions of dollars and decades of work. But what … Read more
The remarkable aurora in early May this year demonstrated the power that solar storms can emit as radiation, but occasionally the sun does something far more destructive. Known as “solar particle events”, these blasts of protons directly from the surface of the sun can shoot out like a searchlight into space. Records show that around … Read more
The sun is on the verge of a significant event: a magnetic field reversal. This phenomenon happens roughly every 11 years and marks an important stage in the solar cycle. The shift in polarity indicates the halfway point of solar maximum, the height of solar activity, and the beginning of the shift toward solar minimum. … Read more
Fear passed in front of the sun last week, and a NASA rover saw it fly. The Mars moon Phobos, whose name means “Fear” in ancient Greek, was caught on camera by the NASA Perseverance rover on Feb. 8. The potato-shaped moon was visible in front of the sun from Percy’s current perch in Jezero … Read more
Later this year, the European Space Agency (ESA) will launch the Proba-3 mission into orbit around Earth. This unique project’s twin spacecraft will align with each other to create frequent, artificial eclipses in space, which will give researchers near-unlimited access to studying the sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona, for the first time. An upcoming terrestrial … Read more
The strength of solar storms hitting Earth can vary dramatically over short distances, with places just a few dozen miles apart experiencing very different magnetic disruptions, new research finds. This could mean that some areas are more vulnerable to large solar storms than previously appreciated, study co-author Eija Tanskanen, the director of the Sodankylä Geophysical … Read more
An enormous “solar tornado” the size of 14 Earths stacked on top of each other recently raged on the sun’s surface for three whole days. The enormous plasma twister may be one of the largest ever recorded. The solar tornado emerged near the sun’s north pole on March 15 and continued to grow and shape-shift … Read more
Researchers have finally pinpointed the likely origin of mysterious heartbeat-like signals spat out by the sun during solar flares. The findings could help us learn more about how potentially damaging solar storms are unleashed, a new study shows. Solar radio bursts are streams of electromagnetic radiation — made up mainly of radio waves, as well … Read more
