Articles tagged with Sun
Researchers found evidence for low-mass black holes, potentially opening up a new area of study about star explosions and formation. The discovery uses data from the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment and identifies a class of black holes smaller than previously known.
The sunshield has passed a test critical to preparing the observatory for launch, with technicians deploying and tensioning each of its five layers. The deployment simulates the conditions it will face in space, with temperatures ranging from -394°F to 230°F.
Scientists at NIF recreate stellar-like conditions to study nucleosynthesis reactions, including the 3He-3He reaction responsible for nearly half of our sun's energy generation. Preliminary results show that protons from this reaction have been observed in these experiments at lower temperatures.
Astronomers have observed the first confirmed interstellar comet, 2I/Borisov, using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The comet has a central concentration of dust around its nucleus and is traveling at an extraordinary speed of 110,000 miles per hour.
Researchers have measured pressure at the edge of the solar system for the first time, finding it to be greater than expected. The pressure, caused by plasma, magnetic fields and particles like ions and cosmic rays, was calculated using observations of galactic cosmic rays from NASA's Voyager spacecraft.
A new algorithm combines the capabilities of two spacecraft instruments, enabling lower-cost and higher-efficiency space missions. The virtual super instrument uses deep learning to analyze ultraviolet images and synthesize useful scientific data.
Researchers suggest an unseen population of gas giants orbiting nearby Sun-like stars, awaiting detection. New models support the disk instability mechanism, challenging the core accretion method.
Scientists analyze NASA's Fermi data to understand cosmic rays and the lunar environment. The research shows the Moon's gamma-ray glow varies by 20% over the Sun's 11-year activity cycle, with implications for future human missions.
Astronomers have characterized a super-Earth discovered by the TESS satellite, which orbits a dwarf star every 55.7 days and may support liquid water on its surface. The planet's conditions could provide insight into Earth's heavyweight planetary cousins.
Scientists at University of Wisconsin-Madison successfully recreated the sun's solar wind and 'plasma burps' in a laboratory setting, confirming their development and providing an Earth-bound model for future study. The experiment used a three-meter-wide hollow sphere to mimic the sun's plasma and electromagnetic fields.
Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology have developed a window film that captures solar energy during the day and releases it as heat at night, helping to regulate indoor temperatures. The film uses a specially designed molecule that changes color when it absorbs sunlight, allowing it to capture energy.
Researchers used NASA data to predict the corona's appearance during a total solar eclipse, assessing and improving their models. Their prediction featured a nebulous corona with two wide streamers, which they confirmed with post-eclipse observations.
Scientists have discovered that dung beetles utilize wind direction in addition to sun orientation to navigate. This combination enhances the beetle's compass, allowing for more precise navigation even in challenging conditions.
Researchers discovered that dung beetles use a wind compass to navigate when the sun is high, complementing their sun compass. This flexible navigation system enables precise direction-finding at all times.
Researchers have discovered that dung beetles use a wind compass and sun compass to navigate, switching between the two depending on the condition. The insects' brains adapt dynamically to the environment, allowing them to make informed decisions.
Research suggests that South African dung beetles utilize a multisensory compass, combining wind direction with solar elevation to maintain spatial orientation. The study found that the beetles' ability to orient themselves improves when incorporating wind cues into their navigation strategy.
A team of researchers has discovered a massive star that formed a planetary nebula, pushing the limits of theoretical predictions. The star, PNe BMP1613-5406, is one of the most massive stars ever found to have formed a PN, providing valuable insights into stellar evolution and chemical composition.
Researchers found that the early Sun's rotation rate and solar activity influenced the formation of the Moon, affecting sodium and potassium levels. The study suggests that space weather played a crucial role in shaping the solar system's evolution.
A new study reveals that rare 'superflares' can occur on older, quieter stars like our sun, posing a threat to Earth's electronics. The events, which eject huge bursts of energy, could disrupt communication satellites and cause blackouts.
Scientists developed a new 3D method to reconstruct Sun's shock waves, aiding in predicting extreme space weather. The approach combines stereo vision and noise filtering techniques to estimate wave front height and propagation rate.
Researchers believe a zone of preferential heating surrounds the sun's surface, with temperatures rising and individual elements heated to different levels. The Parker Solar Probe will test this theory by entering the zone in 2021, providing direct measurements of processes behind solar wind acceleration.
Researchers from Ireland and France used large radio telescopes and ultraviolet cameras to study the Sun's plasma, revealing its unstable nature and potential for harnessing clean energy. The discovery could pave the way for developing safe and efficient nuclear fusion reactors.
The New Horizons spacecraft has revealed a distant Kuiper Belt Object (MU69) as an ancient, untouched relic from the early solar system. The object's flattened bi-lobate shape and discrete geological units indicate a history of gentle collisions.
The AGILE particle telescope will analyze charged particles in the heliosphere, shedding light on physical processes in space. The technology could help clinicians accurately measure radiation absorbed by cancer patients during therapy.
Researchers at Yale University and Japan offer an explanation for the moon's composition, suggesting that magma played a key role in its formation. The new model suggests that 80% of the moon is made up of proto-Earth materials, contradicting previous theories that suggested the impactor was responsible.
RIT Professor Grover Swartzlander is receiving a Phase II award from NASA's NIAC program to explore the feasibility of diffractive solar sails. Diffractive solar sails could be more efficient and withstand the heat of the sun better than traditional reflective sails.
Researchers discovered the diameter of a giant red giant star 2,674 light-years away and a sun-like star at 700 light-years, setting a record for the smallest star measured. The team used asteroid occultations to calculate the stars' sizes with high accuracy.
Researchers found evidence of coronal rain in smaller, previously overlooked magnetic loops on the Sun. The discovery links two solar mysteries: the anomalous heating of the corona and the source of the slow solar wind.
Researchers found that a migratory bat species uses the sunset direction to navigate, contradicting previous assumptions that echolocation was the primary navigation method. The study also revealed that young bats must learn this skill through social interaction with older conspecifics.
Researchers discovered massive blobs of solar wind in archival data from NASA's Helios spacecraft, which could shed light on the solar wind's beginnings. The study used advanced modeling and analysis to connect the blob patterns to specific regions on the Sun.
In a breakthrough study, scientists have observed ions moving faster than atoms in the gas streams of solar prominences, challenging our understanding of plasma behavior. This phenomenon occurs when ions and neutral atoms flow independently in partially ionized plasmas without impact equilibrium.
Researchers used computer simulations to discover Jupiter was formed four times further from the sun than its current position and migrated over 700,000 years. The Trojan asteroids' asymmetry provided key evidence for this migration theory.
Researchers observe two massive protostars forming a binary star system, separated by 180 astronomical units and orbiting each other every 600 years. The study suggests that the stars are formed from a common disk during the initial collapse of the cloud.
Researchers found a fine haze of cosmic dust over Mercury's orbit, forming a ring some 9.3 million miles wide. They also identified the likely source of dust at Venus' orbit: a group of never-before-detected asteroids co-orbiting with the planet.
Astronomers confirm the existence of a hot Jupiter-like planet, Kepler-1658 b, orbiting an evolved star. The discovery, led by University of Hawaii graduate student Ashley Chontos, provides new insights into planetary interactions and the rarity of planets around similar stars.
The Moon appeared to move in two opposite directions during a lunar transit, due to the SDO's faster orbital speed. The spacecraft caught this phenomenon, resulting in a 'freeze-frame' effect as the Moon remained in view.
A new solar cell design created by Beth Parks increases energy capture by 30% in Uganda, where 20-25% of people have no access to electricity. The affordable system could improve quality-of-life for millions and make solar energy more viable in developing countries.
Astronomers have discovered an intermediate-mass black hole, 30,000 times the mass of the Sun, hidden within a gas cloud near the Galactic center. The finding provides new insight into black hole growth and evolution, suggesting that small black holes can merge to form larger ones.
Researchers have found a smoking gun linking a young exoplanet's misaligned orbit to a close stellar flyby. The study, published in the Astronomical Journal, suggests that such encounters can reshape planetary systems and determine their ability to harbor stable orbits.
The Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 project re-launches with a call to volunteer citizen scientists to discover planets and brown dwarfs in the outer reaches of the Solar System. Citizen scientists have already discovered over 1,000 cold nearby brown dwarfs using images from NASA's WISE mission.
A team at Northumbria University discovered a distinctive marker on magnetic waves in the Sun's corona, indicating that sound waves from inside the Sun excite these waves. This finding suggests a new fundamental constant of the Sun and has significant implications for our understanding of stellar atmospheres.
The study imitates the structure and interaction of natural photosystems I and II to create efficient solar cells. The new modules, composed of light-absorbing crystals and water-oxidising catalysts, have an efficiency of over 40% and minimal losses.
Scientists at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory found that plasmoids can alter turbulent energy spectrum in conducting fluids, creating localized intense electric current sheets. This process influences how heat flows through the sun and other astrophysical objects.
A massive stellar flare on a baby star has been spotted by University of Warwick astronomers, revealing how it could create the building blocks for future planets. The flare's x-rays are thought to affect the formation of chondrules, flash-melted calcium-aluminium-rich grains that eventually coalesce into orbiting planets.
The MuSCAT2 instrument will use multi-color transit observations to separate actual exoplanets from eclipsing binary stars. This technique is essential for confirming a large number of new transiting exoplanet candidates, including Earth-like habitable planets orbiting stars near the Sun.
Researchers develop device that uses suspended structure to absorb solar energy, heating water to boiling point and producing superheated steam. The device can be used in remote regions to generate drinking water, sterilize medical equipment, or supply heat for industrial processes.
Researchers propose new storage system to deliver electricity on demand using molten silicon and high-temperature pump, offering cost-effective alternative to pumped hydroelectric storage. The system could be paired with existing renewable energy systems to capture excess electricity during the day and store it for later use.
Researchers have created updated climate models for the seven planets around TRAPPIST-1, revealing unexpected similarities and differences with our solar system. The study suggests that some planets may have evolved like Venus due to an extremely hot early stellar phase, while others could be habitable ocean worlds.
Magnetic reconnection occurs daily near Earth due to twisting field lines and can create auroras or disrupt power grids. NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale mission revealed the process flings particles symmetrically in Earth's magnetotail, unlike on the sunward side.
Astronomers have discovered a planet, known as Barnard's star b, which orbits around its host star every 233 days. The 'super-Earth' is estimated to be a frozen world with surface temperatures of -170 degrees Celsius, but could potentially become more hospitable if it has a substantial atmosphere.
Scientists plan to fly a coronagraph aboard a high-altitude balloon to measure density, temperature, and speed of electrons in the corona. This will help understand how solar wind forms and accelerates, impacting space-weather forecasts and potentially disrupting power grids.
Scientists propose a new model, magnetic pumping, to explain the solar wind's heat persistence as it streams out of the sun and towards Earth. The research shows that particles in the solar wind are affected by magnetic pumping, including high-energy particles.
Researchers have developed an image-processing technique to study comet tails, revealing the unexpected impact of solar winds on dust particles. The findings suggest that the solar wind can disperse dust in McNaught's tail, leading to a better understanding of cometary behavior and its connection to asteroid and planet formation.
Researchers from the Borexino collaboration confirm previous assumptions about the Sun's fusion processes using a comprehensive analysis of neutrinos from the Sun's core. The results substantiate the standard solar model and reveal an interesting clue to a previously unresolved solar mystery: high metallicity.
Researchers at UMass Amherst and international team reveal the first complete study of solar neutrinos emitted by the Sun, shedding light on its energy output and composition. The study uses data from Borexino, a highly sensitive neutrino detector, to measure the full energy spectrum of solar neutrinos.
Astronomers have observed a massive star's death, creating a compact neutron star binary system. The explosion was unusually faint and the star had an unseen companion that siphoned away most of its mass.
A Caltech-led team observed a faint and rapidly fading supernova, suggesting the presence of an unseen companion gravitationally siphoning away the star's mass. The explosion resulted in a dead neutron star orbiting its dense companion, marking the first time scientists have witnessed the birth of a compact neutron star binary system.
RMIT researchers develop color-changing sensors to measure individual UV exposure, providing a simple solution to prevent Vitamin D deficiency and sunburn. The technology has potential applications beyond health, improving safety and reliability in various industries.
The TESS mission captured a detailed picture of the southern sky with its four wide-field cameras, while Parker Solar Probe and GOLD returned initial data on their instruments and science potential. The three missions offer new perspectives on exoplanets, solar activity, and space weather.
Researchers at NYU Abu Dhabi used NASA's Kepler mission and asteroseismology to determine precise rotational patterns of Sun-like stars, challenging current science on stellar rotation. They found that equatorial regions spin up to two and a half times faster than mid- to high latitudes.