Trending

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 

Latest Updates

solar flares

Massive Solar Eruptions 'Probably' Detonated Dozens of US Sea Mines in Vietnam War

Posted

An extraordinary account of the impact space weather had on military operations in Vietnam in 1972 was found buried in the U.S. Navy archives, according to a newly published article in Space Weather.

Parker Solar Probe Sun Flyby

NASA's Sun-Kissing Solar Probe Survives 1st Flyby of Our Star

By Mike Wall

NASA's Parker Solar Probe phoned home Wednesday (Nov. 7), confirming that it survived its first record-breaking sun flyby in good condition.

icon

Technical Glitch Delays Launch of NASA's ICON Satellite on Pegasus Rocket

By Tariq Malik

icon

NASA Will Launch a Satellite to Study the Edge of Space Overnight. Here's How to Watch.

By Meghan Bartels

NASA's much-delayed Ionospheric Connection Explorer is scheduled to launch early tomorrow morning (Nov. 7) to begin studying the boundary where Earth's atmosphere meets space.

Parker Solar Probe Approaching the Sun

NASA's Parker Solar Probe Just Made Its First Close Pass by the Sun!

By Meghan Bartels

One of humanity's newest spacecraft faced a harrowing test late Monday night (Nov. 5), darting just 15 million miles (24 million kilometers) of the surface of our sun.

parker solar probe

NASA's Parker Solar Probe Just Started Its First Skim Past the Sun

By Meghan Bartels

NASA's Parker Solar Probe has had a big week: on Monday it broke two world records and today it began its first close pass over the sun.

Parker Solar Probe Approaching the Sun

A NASA Spacecraft Just Broke the Record for Closest Approach to Sun

By Mike Wall

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe just got closer to the sun than any other human-made object in history.

Coronal mass ejection

Gravity Assist Podcast: Solar Storms, with Alex Young

By NASA, Astrobiology Magazine

NASA's Chief Scientist, Dr Jim Green, talks to solar physicist Alex Young.

icon

ICON of Delay? NASA, Northrop Grumman Postpone Earth Satellite Mission Yet Again

By Meghan Bartels

The launch of NASA's much-delayed mission to study the interaction of terrestrial and space weather has again been postponed, the agency announced.

flaring red dwarf

Red Dwarf Star's Mighty 'Hazflare' Could Be Bad News for Alien Life

By Mike Wall

Another red dwarf has been caught firing off a superpowerful flare, further bolstering the notion that life might have a hard time taking root around these small, dim stars.

BepiColombo spacecraft at Mercury art

BepiColombo Launches This Weekend to Crack Mysteries of Mercury — and Beyond

By Meghan Bartels

NASA's Parker Solar Probe successfully made its first flyby of Venus on Oct. 3, 2018 as the spacecraft makes its way toward the sun. The spacecraft will be the first to fly through the sun's outer atmosphere. Six more Venus flybys are planned.

NASA Solar Probe Flies By Venus on Its Way to 'Touch' the Sun

By Mike Wall

The agency's Parker Solar Probe zoomed within 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) of Venus as planned this morning (Oct. 3), getting an orbit-sculpting gravity assist, NASA officials said.

WISPER image

Here Comes the Sun! Parker Solar Probe Instruments See 'First Light'

By Elizabeth Howell

As Parker Solar Probe prepares for an unprecedented close-up of the sun, the new spacecraft sent data home showing that all is well in the mission.

Sunspot Solar Observatory on Sacramento Peak

Child-Porn Investigation Caused New Mexico Observatory Closure: Report

By Mike Wall

An FBI investigation into child pornography caused the peculiar closure of a New Mexico solar observatory earlier this month, according to the news agency Reuters.

SDO Spies Big Coronal Hole

Hole in Sun's Atmosphere Amps Up Northern Lights

By Mike Wall

The northern lights just got a boost thanks to a big hole in the sun's atmosphere, and there could be something of a repeat showing tonight (Sept. 11).

Hot Jupiter art

How NASA's Mission to 'Touch the Sun' May Reveal Clues About Alien Worlds

By Meghan Bartels

NASA's new mission to the sun may reveal clues about alien worlds, too.

FOXSI on sounding rocket

NASA Will Launch 2 Rockets to Test a Mars Parachute and Track 'Nanoflares'

By Meghan Bartels

Saturn's nothern auroras

See Saturn's Stunning Auroras Glow Over Time in These Hubble Photos

By Sarah Lewin

New images from the Hubble Space Telescope show Saturn's ultraviolet auroras swirling at the planet's north pole in the months before and after the northern summer solstice.

connex experiment diagram

Why We Need Active Experiments in Space (Op-Ed)

By Gian Luca Delzanno

Active space-based experiments can deliver crucial insight into the space environment that has become increasingly vital to national security and the global economy.

earth magnetic field

Earth's Magnetic Field Can Reverse Poles Ridiculously Quickly, Study Suggests

By Brandon Specktor

Earth's magnetic field is far less stable than scientists thought.