Articles tagged with Sun
New research suggests that dirty stars with a high abundance of elements like iron and oxygen are more likely to host planets. The study's findings support the idea that the composition of a star reflects its disk, leading to an increased number of exoplanets around such stars.
Researchers have detected a surge in galactic cosmic rays, reaching a Space Age high, attributed to the solar minimum. The increase poses a risk for astronauts and satellite systems, requiring re-evaluation of radiation shielding.
The study reveals two distinct dust disks around the star 51 Ophiuchi, with the inner disk spanning 4 Astronomical Units from the star and tapering off rapidly. The outer disk extends hundreds of times farther and appears more puffed up, holding smaller particles similar in size to those in smoke.
A team of researchers from UC San Diego, MIT, and UC Berkeley are working on fundamental multiscale studies of plasma-material interactions to improve the scientific understanding of magnetic confinement fusion. Their goal is to engineer plasma walls that can survive in the environment necessary for fusion power generation.
A new study reveals that Arctic temperatures have been warming at an unprecedented rate, surpassing the natural cooling trend over the past 2,000 years. The research suggests that human-induced greenhouse gas emissions are overpowering natural climate patterns, leading to dramatic impacts on the region.
Small fluctuations in solar radiation have a significant impact on cloud formation and precipitation, with variations of just 0.1% affecting the Pacific Ocean's water temperature and precipitation patterns. This study demonstrates that understanding natural climatic variability is crucial for making reliable future climate scenarios.
Researchers at Max-Planck Institute found that people walk in circles without noticing, especially when sun or moon visibility decreases. Increasing uncertainty about walking direction causes these circular paths.
Researchers found that people tend to walk in circles when lost due to lack of directional references, leading to accumulation of sensorimotor system noise. In controlled tests, blindfolded participants walked small circles, highlighting the role of internal navigation errors.
Researchers from Tokyo Institute of Technology and University of Copenhagen found that Carbonyl Sulphide, produced by volcanic activity, kept the planet warm, offsetting the weak young sun's energy. This discovery explains how Earth avoided freezing solid and paved the way for life to emerge.
Tiny flares called nanoflares cause temperatures in the sun's corona to reach millions of degrees. The tiny bursts occur within thin magnetic tubes and release stresses in the field, producing impulsive energy bursts.
New research by NCAR shows a key link between the solar cycle and global climate, with maximum solar activity impacting Earth similarly to La Nina and El Nino events. The study may pave the way toward better predictions of temperature and precipitation patterns.
Research by NSF-funded scientists reveals a scientifically feasible link between the 11-year solar cycle and ENSO, influencing climate variability globally. The study suggests that maximum solar activity can drive La Niña-like events with similar impacts on global temperature and precipitation patterns.
The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) spacecraft has arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., where it will undergo final testing before its anticipated November launch. The mission aims to study the sun in unprecedented detail and its effects on Earth, collecting 1.5 terabytes of data daily.
A new class of black hole has been discovered, with masses between 100 and several hundred thousand times that of the Sun. The discovery, made by an international team of astronomers using XMM-Newton observations, confirms the existence of intermediate mass black holes.
Astronomers at the University of Hawaii have discovered a binary star-disk system with two stars surrounded by dust disks capable of forming planetary systems. The system, 253-1536, is the first known example of two optically visible stars with enough mass to form an Earth-like planet.
Astronomers use new calculations to redefine habitable zones, considering tidal forces that can impact planet's climate and life. The revised definition limits potential habitable environments, focusing searches on overlapping zones.
Researchers discovered that ultracool subdwarfs have unique and diverse orbits around the Milky Way, with some stars traveling at speeds of over a million miles per hour. One star may be an intergalactic visitor, originating from another galaxy.
Researchers Adams and Pierce tested a controversial hypothesis that solar activity causes global warming by reducing cloudiness. They found changes in atmospheric ions and particle formation resulting from variations in the sun and cosmic rays were too small to affect climate, laying the hypothesis to rest.
The Fermi telescope captured a hypnotic froth of gamma rays, revealing active galaxies called blazars flare up and fade out. The movie shows the entire sky as northern and southern halves, with bright colors indicating greater numbers of detected gamma rays.
The NRL's SoloHI instrument will provide revolutionary measurements to pinpoint solar storms, offering a pristine view of the solar wind plasma. The Solar Orbiter mission aims to understand how the sun varies and its impact on planetary systems.
A new study from the Niels Bohr Institute suggests that changes in CO2 levels can suddenly reach a critical threshold, triggering dramatic climate shifts. The Earth's climate is controlled by three cycles: orbital eccentricity, axial tilt, and rotation, which influence solar radiation.
A new study analyzes interactions on the Moon among electrostatic adhesive forces, sun's rays angle and lunar gravity to conclude stickiness changes with sun elevation. Forces compelling dust to cling to surfaces weaken as sun moves higher in sky, allowing lunar gravity to pull off.
Scientists can now study coronal mass ejections in 3D, predicting their impact on Earth. This capability will improve forecasts for space weather disturbances and aurora displays.
The Arctic is expected to lose four-fifths of its summer sea ice, reducing it from 4.6 million square kilometers to 1 million, with warming temperatures contributing to the decline. This rapid change is attributed to natural variability and increased greenhouse gases.
Raphael Haftka and C.T. Sun will receive the AIAA-ASC James H. Starnes, Jr. Award for their pioneering work on optimization techniques for composite structures and mentoring of students. The award acknowledges their significant contributions to structural mechanics over an extended period.
The Solar Orbiter mission will explore the Sun's plasma properties and composition using the SPICE instrument, advancing our knowledge of the Sun's dynamics. The data will help understand the effects on Earth and the solar system.
Scientists at Queen's University have detected giant twisting waves in the lower atmosphere of the Sun, known as Alfvén waves. These waves transport energy into the Corona or outer layer, carrying heat and explaining why it reaches temperatures of over a million degrees.
Researchers from the University of Sheffield and Queen's University Belfast have made a groundbreaking discovery about the Sun's corona. They found evidence for the existence of Alfvén waves, which transport energy to heat the Sun's outer atmosphere, reaching temperatures of over a million degrees.
The new map combines nearly three months of data from NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, offering an unparalleled look at the high-energy cosmos. The image reveals flares from supermassive black holes in distant galaxies and pulsars, as well as a globular cluster in our own Milky Way galaxy.
Researchers found black gold bubbles in sunlight reflections on the ocean's surface, revealing a new technique to detect oil seeps. This method could provide timely and cost-effective means to survey oceans for oil spills and monitor human-induced releases.
The European team discovered the smallest transiting extrasolar planet, CoRoT-Exo-7b, orbiting a star slightly smaller than the Sun. The planet's radius is about twice that of Earth and orbits its host star in just 20 hours.
Researchers aim to understand the structure and dynamics of the heliosphere using cosmic rays to probe its outer environment. The project has potential implications for space weather forecasting and keeping astronauts safe from hazardous space radiation.
The Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) spacecraft is creating the first global maps of interactions between the solar wind and the interstellar medium. The maps are built using energetic neutral atom imaging and reveal the intricate pattern of this fascinating interaction.
Researchers have found that the alignment of the sun's magnetic field with Earth's shields our planet from solar particles. The discovery could be used to predict when solar storms will be severe, and is expected to impact power lines and spacecraft.
A team of astronomers discovered a new planet closely orbiting the giant star HD 102272, nearly six times the mass of Jupiter. The planet's location near the star raises questions about how aging stars influence nearby planets.
The NASA-designed Sunshield is made of a super-tough polymer-based film that can block the sun's energy while maintaining structural integrity. The telescope needs to be extremely cold to observe distant galaxies and stars in infrared light, and the Sunshield plays a crucial role in achieving this.
The NASA Glory mission aims to measure airborne particles more accurately from space, shedding light on the aerosol effect on climate change. Participants can send their names on a microchip that becomes part of the spacecraft, with a deadline for submission set for Nov. 1, 2008.
Researchers at the University of Hawaii created a photochemical reactor built into a surfboard to perform green reactions with sunlight and sea water. The system efficiently dissipates excess thermal energy using ocean currents, enabling scalable production of vitamin A variants.
A team of astrophysicists from the University of Montreal has discovered and measured the most massive star ever found, a binary system with a total mass of over 100 solar masses. The star, located in the NGC 3603 cluster, has a rotation period of 3.77 days and emits X-rays at unprecedented levels.
New simulations suggest that stars like our sun can migrate great distances in galaxies similar to the Milky Way, potentially altering our view of habitable zones. This finding could change scientists' understanding of where and how life could evolve in a galaxy.
Researchers at the University of Bonn discover brown dwarfs must be treated as a separate class due to their unique mass distribution and 'mating behaviour'. This reclassification challenges current understanding of stellar formation and population dynamics.
A University of Michigan instrument on the MESSENGER spacecraft has detected silicon, sodium, sulfur, and water ions around Mercury, suggesting that they were blasted from the surface or exosphere by solar wind. The findings provide a new understanding of Mercury's composition and its interaction with the sun's magnetic field.
Goddard is launching multiple space missions in the upcoming year, focusing on upgrading the famous Hubble Space Telescope and studying powerful gamma-rays. The Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) will also make global observations of the region beyond the termination shock, exploring the galactic frontier.
Researchers have identified four celestial events in Homer's Odyssey that match astronomical patterns, suggesting a total solar eclipse occurred on April 16, 1178 BCE. This could help date the fall of Troy and shed new light on Odysseus' journey.
The University of Colorado at Boulder returned nearly $3 million in cost savings to NASA for the Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) satellite mission. The SORCE mission, launched in 2003, was controlled from CU-Boulder's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics and provided critical measurements of solar variation.
Researchers are using the Allen Telescope Array to target a specific area of the sky, the ecliptic plane, where they believe civilizations may be more likely to transmit signals. This targeted search increases the chances of detecting extraterrestrial life in our galaxy.
A team of astronomers led by David Bennett discovered a planet with a mass about three times that of Earth, orbiting a star with a mass 6% of the sun's, potentially hosting conditions suitable for life. The discovery was made using the gravitational microlensing method and confirms predictions made in 1996.
Researchers have determined the masses of the coldest class of brown dwarfs for the first time outside the solar system. The team used ultrasharp images from the Keck Telescope and Hubble Space Telescope to measure the sizes and durations of binary systems, revealing two new brown dwarf binaries with masses as low as 6% of the sun's mass.
A rare and intense stellar flare was detected by NASA's Swift satellite from the normally quiet red dwarf star EV Lacertae. The flare, which lasted for 8 hours, would have sterilized life-bearing planets' surfaces if they were nearby.
A small red dwarf star called EV Lacertae unleashed an unprecedented stellar flare, detected by NASA's Swift satellite. The star's fast rotation and magnetic fields generated the powerful flare, releasing energy across the electromagnetic spectrum.
The spacecraft is equipped with sun shades to block stray light from the Sun, Earth, and Moon, allowing GLAST to accurately track its orientation. Thermal blankets protect GLAST from harsh space environment conditions.
The Solar Probe mission will study the streams of charged particles emitted by the sun, exploring the processes that heat its corona and produce solar wind. The spacecraft will zip past the sun at speeds up to 125 miles per second, gathering data on magnetic fields, energy flow, and energetic particle formation.
Researchers found that the eye uses a distinct mechanism to reset the biological clock through light detection, separate from sight. This discovery could lead to easier tests to diagnose issues with light detection, potentially helping SAD and insomnia patients.
Astronomers have identified the smallest known black hole, with a mass of 3.8 times that of our Sun and a diameter of just 15 miles. The black hole resides in a binary system in the Milky Way Galaxy and was measured using archival data from NASA's Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer satellite.
Researchers have found evidence of small, sandy particles orbiting a newborn solar system at a distance similar to the Earth's orbit around the sun. The discovery sheds light on how Earth-like planets may form and offers new opportunities for studying the chemical composition of these particles.
Astronomers have discovered that many nearby sun-like stars may form rocky planets, with potential for life being more common than thought. The study suggests that at least 20 percent to 60 percent of stars similar to the sun are candidates for forming terrestrial worlds.
Astronomers have discovered a solar system nearly 5,000 light years away with scaled-down versions of Jupiter and Saturn. The planets are similar in size to our own, suggesting that planetary systems like ours may be more common than previously thought.
New research reveals that comet Wild 2's sample is missing ingredients expected in cometary IDPs and resembles chondritic meteorites from the asteroid belt. The high-speed capture of Stardust particles may have altered the material.
A new study finds that moderate sun exposure can increase vitamin D production, which protects against various cancers and diseases. The research suggests that people in southern latitudes produce more vitamin D due to increased solar radiation intensity.
The analysis of noble gases in Stardust samples indicates that some particles match a special type of carbonaceous material found in meteorites and must have spent time near the sun. The study suggests an alternative mechanism for grain incorporation into comets, contradicting earlier formation theories.