Universally Speaking, Earthlings Share a Nice Neighborhood
We don't have spacecraft to take us outside our solar system--not yet, at least. Still, astronomers thought they had a pretty good understanding of how our solar system formed and in turn, how others formed. view more (2008-08-11)
Archive Trawl Gives Bison Three Decades Of Solar Music
Scientists in Birmingham have scoured the archives and put together a complete archive of helioseismic data for nearly three solar cycles. The results from reprocessing the data will shed light on the link between helioseismology, the study of sound waves resonating within the Sun, and solar activity. Dr Graham Verner will be presenting... view more... (2005-03-30)
Swedish solar telescope bursts dream barrier
The first pictures from the new Swedish solar telescope on La Palma, Canary Islands, are presented in an article in the prestigious science journal Nature from November 14. The images of the sun are the most detailed ever seen. One of the most sensational discoveries is a previously unknown detailed sunspot structure. The impact of this discovery... view more... (2002-11-18)
Low-cost solution processing method developed for CIGS-based solar cells
Though the solar industry today predominately produces solar panels made from crystalline silicon, they remain relatively expensive to make. view more (2009-07-08)
ESA chairs the International Living With a Star programme
ESA is providing the first chairman for the International Living With A Star (ILWS) programme. ILWS is an unprecedented initiative in which space agencies worldwide are getting together to investigate how variations in the Sun affect the environment of Earth and the other planets, in the short and long term. In particular, ILWS will concentrate... view more... (2003-02-21)
New findings on the birth of the solar system
A team of international astrophysicists, including Dr Maria Lugaro from Monash University, has discovered a new explanation for the early composition of our solar system. view more (2009-07-20)
Adding up renewable energy
Do the overall efficiencies of renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar, and geothermal add up in terms of their complete life cycle from materials sourcing, manufacture, running, and decommissioning" Researchers in Greece have carried out a life cycle assessment to find the answer. view more (2007-08-14)
Solar flares set the Sun quaking
Data from the ESA/NASA spacecraft SOHO shows clearly that powerful starquakes ripple around the Sun in the wake of mighty solar flares that explode above its surface. The observations give solar physicists new insight into a long-running solar mystery and may even provide a way of studying other stars. view more (2008-04-21)
Despite Britain's weather, the sun always shines on PV
Contrary to popular opinion, Britain's weather is suited to solar power, say researchers at the University of Oxford. In an independent test of the leading types of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, they are finding out which types of solar panels work best in Britain's often dull and varied climate. Solar photovoltaic (PVs) are one of the most... view more... (2001-05-24)
Jules Verne ATV given its 'wings'
The next time Jules Verne ATV's four solar arrays are fully deployed, giving the vehicle a total span of 22.3 m, will be in early 2008, at 28 000 km/h over the South Pacific Ocean. view more (2007-12-03)
UCLA researchers develop new method for producing transparent conductors
Researchers at UCLA have developed a new method for producing a hybrid graphene-carbon nanotube, or G-CNT, for potential use as a transparent conductor in solar cells and consumer electronic devices. view more (2009-05-14)
Meteorite grains divulge Earth's cosmic roots
The interstellar stuff that became incorporated into the planets and life on Earth has younger cosmic roots than theories predict. view more (2009-06-16)
Europe, the bright spark in converting sunlight into electricity: First ever calibration laboratory accreditation.
Solar Photovoltaic Systems converting sunlight into electricity are a key technology in reaching Europe's objectives of safe, secure and sustainable energy supply. World-wide production of solar electricity has continued to increase by more than 30% per year, reaching 1000 megawatts (enough to meet the domestic needs of 660.000 European citizens)... view more... (2004-09-09)
How Special Is The Solar System?
On the evidence to date, our solar system could be fundamentally different from the majority of planetary systems around stars because it formed in a different way. If that is the case, Earth-like planets will be very rare. After examining the properties of the 100 or so known extrasolar planetary systems and assessing two ways in which planets... view more... (2004-08-03)
ESA develops a smarter way to travel through space
As scientists demand more from space missions travelling to other worlds and beyond, traditional rocket technologies are beginning to show shortcomings. In response, ESA are helping to develop a new type of rocket engine, known as solar-electric propulsion, or more commonly, an ion engine, that can mark a whole new era of space exploration.... view more... (2002-06-11)
The Sun`s Twisted Mysteries
Solar physicists at the Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL, University College London) in Surrey have found new clues to the thirty year old puzzle of why the Sun ejects huge bubbles of electrified gas, laced with magnetic field, known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs). In a paper published this month in the Journal of Solar Physics, they... view more... (2002-08-30)
Researchers think pink to produce 'green' solar energy
When it comes to producing earth-friendly solar energy, pink may be the new green, according to Ohio State University researchers. Scientists here have developed new dye-sensitized solar cells, that get their pink color from a mixture of red dye and white metal oxide powder in materials that capture light. view more (2007-07-31)
Earth's magnetic field could help protect astronauts working on the moon
It has been 35 years since humans last walked on the moon, but there has been much recent discussion about returning, either for exploration or to stage a mission to Mars. However, there are concerns about potential radiation danger for astronauts during long missions on the lunar surface. view more (2007-12-11)
Has SOHO ended a 30-year quest for solar ripples?
The ESA-NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) may have glimpsed long-sought oscillations on the Sun's surface. The data will reveal details about the very core of our central star and it contains clues as to how the Sun formed, 4.6 billion years ago. view more (2007-05-04)
Surprises from the Sun's South Pole
Although very close to the minimum of its 11-year sunspot cycle, the Sun showed that it is still capable of producing a series of remarkably energetic outbursts-ESA-NASA Ulysses mission revealed. view more (2007-02-20)
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