Space Weather

See our amazing collection of stories and features about the increasingly important topic of space weather (aka solar storms).

Related Topics: Solar Eclipse, Aurora Borealis

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A closeup of the M7.6-class solar flare that erupted from the sun on July 23, 2016 as seen by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. NASA is considering two proposals that would study space weather from the sun.

NASA Eyes Missions to Track Space Weather Threats with Small Satellites

By Elizabeth Howell

NASA is considering two proposals that would study space weather from the sun, which poses a radiation threat to astronauts cruising across the solar system.

Astrophotographer Miguel Claro captured this spectacular vertical panorama or the aurora borealis from the Arctic Circle. Can you see the shape of a bird flying with a running rabbit?

Bright Green Aurora Bird Takes Flight with a Running Rabbit Over Iceland (Photo)

By Miguel Claro

Auroras offer a wonderful variety of colors and phantasmagoric shapes. A vertical panorama seems to reveal one of these epic moments, with the incredible shape of a bird flying with a running rabbit.

NASA's Parker Solar Probe observed the solar wind streaming past during the spacecraft's first solar encounter in November 2018.

NASA Sun Probe Spies the Solar Wind in 1st Birthday Photo

By Elizabeth Howell

NASA's Parker Solar Probe is preparing for another close swoop by the sun as it celebrates its first year in space.

The majestic, bird-shaped aurora spreads its wings over a destroyed military hydroelectric station, located two hours away from Murmansk, Russia.

'Phoenix' Aurora Spreads Its 'Wings' Over Abandoned Military Power Station in Russia

By Mindy Weisberger

More than 4,000 photographers shot for the moon (and beyond) for the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition in the U.K.

NASA's twin E-TBEx cubesats will study how charged particles in the ionosphere, shown in this visualization, affect satellites.

Twin NASA Satellites Will Ride SpaceX Falcon Heavy to Study Earth's Ionosphere

By Kasandra Brabaw

NASA will be launching two identical miniature satellites next week as part of a project designed to help scientists understand how Earth's atmosphere muddies the radio signals we rely on.

The northern lights glow over Abisko, Sweden in this view by photographer Oliver Wright taken on March 14, 2018.

High-Altitude Auroras Create 'Speed Bumps' for Satellites

By Mike Wall

A high-altitude version of the northern lights can create a headwind for some orbiting satellites, new research confirms.

Massive blasts of plasma can launch forth when the sun's magnetic field lines tangle, break and recombine.

The Sun Is Spitting Out 'Lava Lamp Blobs' 500 Times the Size of Earth

By Brandon Specktor

The blobs are real, they’re chock full of charged particles and they’re heading our way several times each day.

The Reiner Gamma lunar swirl photographed by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is an example of the moon's "sunburn."

Solar Wind Leaves 'Sunburn' Scars on the Moon

By Samantha Mathewson

People on Earth are familiar with the sun's powerful rays — but the moon suffers from sunburn, too.

The Atmospheric Waves Experiment (AWE) will study the colorful airglow of the upper atmosphere from its perch on the International Space Station.

NASA Selects Space Weather Experiment for International Space Station

By Jeff Foust

NASA has selected a space weather experiment to fly to the International Space Station as the agency's heliophysics program seeks to strike a balance between large and small missions.

Tadpole-shaped sunspots leave the surface of the sun.

Solar 'Tadpoles' May Contribute to Superhot Upper Atmosphere of the Sun

By Elizabeth Howell

Are those really baby frogs swimming out from the sun? A NASA spacecraft spotted jets shaped like tadpoles in regions of intense solar magnetic activity.

Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko captured this view of Earth from space in a spectacular time-lapse video from the International Space Station during his Expedition 58 mission.

Earth Looks Spectacular from Space in This Breathtaking Cosmonaut Video

By Meghan Bartels

Is Earth's Magnetic Field Flipping Soon?

By Elizabeth Howell

Here's Why Auroras on Earth Are Different in the North and South

By Meghan Bartels

In this visualization of a solar flare, violet represents plasma with temperatures less than 1 million Kelvin; red represents temperatures between 1 million and 10 million K; and green represents temperatures above 10 million K.

Stunning Animation of a Solar Flare Captures Its Life from Birth to Death

By Mindy Weisberger

For the first time, an animated model visualized a realistic solar flare.

NASA's Voyager 2 Went Interstellar the Same Day a Solar Probe Touched the Sun

By Meghan Bartels

Call it a cosmic coincidence: Two probes launched four decades apart, traveled in opposite directions — and ended up using similar instruments to gather milestone data on precisely the same day.

Millions of Degrees and Plasma Dreams: NASA's Parker Solar Probe Basks in the Sun

By Doris Elin Urrutia

The Parker Solar Probe is doing well after its first flyby of the sun, and it will soon begin returning groundbreaking data about how our star behaves.

Scientists Visualize the Sun's Mysteries Using 400 Years of Solar Observations

By Doris Elin Urrutia

In an effort to better grasp the sun's past, present and future, Colombian and Spanish researchers made visualizations that meld the last 400 years of recorded solar observations.