Scientists create first comprehensive computer model of sunspots In a breakthrough that will help scientists unlock mysteries of the sun and its impacts on Earth, scientists have created the first-ever comprehensive computer model of sunspots. view more (2009-06-19)
Sunquakes Reveal The Solar Furnace Most people are familiar with the fact that sensitive instruments known as seismographs can detect earthquakes taking place many hundreds or thousands of miles away. By studying the waves from these tremors, scientists can find out about the conditions deep inside our rocky planet. In the same way, astronomers are now able to measure millions... view more... (2003-03-31)
Link between sunspots, rain helps predict disease in east Africa The research, conducted by paleoclimatologist Curt Stager of Paul Smith's College in Paul Smiths, N.Y. and colleagues, can be used by public health officials to increase measures against insect-borne diseases long before epidemics begin. view more (2007-08-08)
Scientists issue unprecedented forecast of next sunspot cycle The next sunspot cycle will be 30 to 50 percent stronger than the last one, and begin as much as a year late, according to a breakthrough forecast using a computer model of solar dynamics developed by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo. view more (2006-03-07)
NOAA: Sunspot is harbinger of new solar cycle, increasing risk for electrical systems A new 11-year cycle of heightened solar activity, bringing with it increased risks for power grids, critical military, civilian and airline communications, GPS signals and even cell phones and ATM transactions, showed signs it was on its way late Thursday when the cycle's first sunspot appeared in the sun's Northern Hemisphere, NOAA scientists... view more... (2008-01-08)
A Lightning Strike in Africa Helps Take the Pulse of the Sun Sunspots, which rotate around the sun's surface, tell us a great deal about our own planet. Scientists rely on them, for instance, to measure the sun's rotation or to prepare long-range forecasts of the Earth's health. view more (2009-11-12)
Sunspot abundance linked to heavy rains in East Africa A new study reveals correlations between plentiful sunspots and periods of heavy rain in East Africa. Intense rainfall in the region often leads to flooding and disease outbreaks. view more (2007-08-06)
Solar Cycle Driven by More than Sunspots; Sun Also Bombards Earth with High-Speed Streams of Wind Challenging conventional wisdom, new research finds that the number of sunspots provides an incomplete measure of changes in the Sun's impact on Earth over the course of the 11-year solar cycle. view more (2009-09-18)
NOAA announces next solar storm cycle will likely start next March The next 11-year cycle of solar storms will most likely start next March and peak in late 2011 or mid-2012-up to a year later than expected-according to a forecast issued by the NOAA Space Environment Center in coordination with an international panel of solar experts. view more (2007-04-30)
Focus On Solar Outbursts While scientists and aurora spotters marvel at the explosions on the Sun, everyone responsible for the hundreds of satellites that serve human needs, from weather observations to car navigation, wishes that these potentially damaging events were more predictable. So do the astronauts aboard the International Space Station, who recently had to... view more... (2003-11-19)
Christmas Star Does the Twist! STRICT EMBARGO - 0001 HRS, MONDAY 10 DECEMBER 2001 A team of Scottish and French astronomers have discovered a festive star that does the twist. Discovered by astronomers from the University of St Andrews and the Observatoire Midi-Pyrenees, Toulouse during Christmas observations in Australia, the new phenomenon of twisting behaviour demonstrates a... view more... (2001-12-07)
Solar Contribution To 'Global Warming' Predicted To Decrease New research on the sun's contribution to global warming is reported in this month's Astronomy & Geophysics. By looking at solar activity over the last 11,000 years, British Antarctic Survey (BAS) astrophysicist, Mark Clilverd, predicts that the sun's contribution to warming the Earth will reduce slightly over the next 100 years. This is a... view more... (2003-10-01)
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)
Chasing the shadow--top tips for taking the perfect eclipse picture The sun will be the star of the show at a lecture demonstration evening at the Institute of Physics in London on Monday 8 March. Two highly entertaining and authoritative speakers will explain what we in the UK can do to make the most of the once-in-a-lifetime event on 11 August 1999 when the sun will disappear from our skies during the total... view more... (1999-03-02)
Scientists pinpoint the 'edge of space' Where does space begin? Scientists at the University of Calgary have created a new instrument that is able to track the transition between the relatively gentle winds of Earth's atmosphere and the more violent flows of charged particles in space - flows that can reach speeds well over 1000 km/hr. And they have accomplished this in unprecedented... view more... (2009-04-10)
Sunlight prevents cancer - SunSmart recommendations risk health The health of the public is being put at risk by recommendations to cover up and stay out of the sun in the UK. These recommendations, which are part of Cancer Research UK's SunSmart programme, increase the risk of several types of cancer, and may also increase deaths from melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer. Increased exposure to... view more... (2005-03-22)
Catch a few rays this summer Scientists already excited by NASA's plan to catch a piece of the Sun (Guardian, Monday 16 July 2001) can now catch up on the current sum of human knowledge about our star with the publication of The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the Sun. While NASA will spend around £120 million on the Genesis spacecraft to be launched at the end of July,... view more... (2001-07-25)
Violent days on the Sun On Tuesday 23 July 2002 space scientists recorded the largest of four powerful solar flares, all occurring in the space of just eight days. Solar flares are tremendous explosions in the atmosphere of the Sun, with the most powerful class, called the X class, capable of releasing as much energy as a thousand million megatonnes of high explosive.... view more... (2002-07-26)
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