NASA
How Solar Flares Affect Earth
A team of scientists led by Laura Hayes –a solar physicist who splits her time between NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland – investigated a connection between solar flares and Earth's atmosphere....
NASA
Get Ready for the 2017 Solar Eclipse
On Monday, August 21, 2017, our nation will be treated to a total eclipse of the sun. The eclipse will be visible -- weather permitting -- across all of North America. The whole continent will experience a partial eclipse lasting two to...
NASA
NASA | Little SDO: Looking Inside the Sun
Little SDO explains both how he can see inside the sun and how he can tell what you ate for lunch today.
NASA
SDO's View of the Aug. 21, 2017, Solar Eclipse
While many in the U.S. experienced a total solar eclipse on Aug. 21, 2017, SDO's perspective, observing the Sun from Earth orbit, afforded it a view of a partial eclipse. This movie, created from images taken by NASA's Solar Dynamics...
NASA
Parker Solar Probe--Mission Overview
Parker Solar Probe will swoop to within 4 million miles of the sun's surface, facing heat and radiation like no spacecraft before it. Launching in 2018, Parker Solar Probe will provide new data on solar activity and make critical...
NASA
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory: Year 7 Ultra HD (4k)
The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) has now captured nearly seven years worth of ultra-high resolution solar footage. This time lapse shows that full run from two of SDO's instruments. The large orange sun is visible light captured by...
NASA
NASA Spacecraft Uncover Mystery Behind Auroral Beads
A special type of aurora, draped east-west across the night sky like a glowing pearl necklace, is helping scientists better understand the science of auroras and their powerful drivers out in space. Known as auroral beads, these lights...
NASA
NASA Explores High-Energy Rainfall in the Atmosphere
Our planet is nestled in the center of two doughnut-shaped regions of powerful, dynamic radiation: the Van Allen belts, where high-energy particles are trapped by Earth’s magnetic field. Depending on incoming radiation from the sun, they...
NASA
NASA | Why are We Seeing So Many Sungrazing Comets?
Before 1979, there were less than a dozen known sungrazing comets. As of December 2012, we know of 2,500. Why did this number increase? With solar observatories like SOHO, STEREO, and SDO, we have not only better means of viewing the...
NASA
NASA | Twisting Plasma on the Sun
Darker, cooler plasma slid and shifted back and forth above the Sun's surface seen here for 30 hours (Feb. 7-8, 2012) in extreme ultraviolet light. An active region rotating into view provides a bright backdrop to the gyrating streams of...
NASA
NASA | Scientists Answer Top Space Weather Questions, Part II
NASA scientists answer some common questions about the sun, space weather, and how they affect the Earth. This is a two-part series. Part Two addresses: 1. Do all flares and CMEs affect the Earth? 2. What happens when a flare or CME hits...
NASA
NASA | Top Solar Discoveries: #3
A countdown of the top 5 solar discoveries from the Sun-Earth Connection Education Forum. These include the discoveries of sunspots, the solar cycle, the heliosphere, aurora formation, and space weather. Number 3 in the Top 5 Solar...
NASA
NASA | Top Solar Discoveries: #1
A countdown of the top 5 solar discoveries from the Sun-Earth Connection Education Forum. These include the discoveries of sunspots, the solar cycle, the heliosphere, aurora formation, and space weather. Number 1 in the Top 5 Solar...
NASA
NASA | The Truth about 2012 - Solar Storms
Should we be concerned about solar storms in 2012? Heliophysicist Alex Young from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center sorts out truth from fiction.
NASA
NASA | The Sun Reverses its Magnetic Poles
This visualization shows the position of the sun's magnetic fields from January 1997 to December 2013. The field lines swarm with activity: The magenta lines show where the sun's overall field is negative and the green lines show where...
NASA
NASA | The Mystery of the Aurora
With spring right around the corner it is the season for auroras. The beautiful and mysterious auroras are spectacular to watch, but they are actually a manifestation of violent space weather. This weather can create big problems here on...
NASA
NASA | SDO Engineers Create What Never Was
Engineers from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center talk about what it is like to build, assemble, integrate, and test a custom-made spacecraft like the soon to be launched Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO).
NASA
NASA | MMS Engineering Challenges
It's hard enough to build one spacecraft, but the Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission (MMS) is building four. Together, the spacecraft will unlock the mysteries of magnetic reconnection, when magnetic fields explosively connect and...
NASA
NASA | Get Ready for the August 1, 2008 Total Solar Eclipse
On August 1, 2008 a rare total solar eclipse will appear in the skies over parts of Canada, Greenland, Russia, Mongolia, and China. During this spectacular event, the moon will cross in front of the sun, completely blocking out the sun's...
NASA
NASA | Canyon of Fire on the Sun
A magnetic filament of solar material erupted on the sun in late September, breaking the quiet conditions in a spectacular fashion. The 200,000 mile long filament ripped through the sun's atmosphere, the corona, leaving behind what looks...
NASA
The Aurora Named STEVE
For the first time, scientists have ground and satellite views of STEVE (short for Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement), a thin purple ribbon of light. Scientists have now learned, despite its ordinary name, that STEVE may be an...
NASA
NASA | SDO: Year 4
Music: Stella Maris courtesy of Moby Gratis. The sun is always changing and NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory is always watching. Launched on Feb. 11, 2010, SDO keeps a 24-hour eye on the entire disk of the sun, with a prime view of the...
NASA
NASA | Sun-Earth Day - Promo 1
Sun-Earth Day is comprised of a series of programs and events that occur throughout the year culminating with a celebration on or near the Spring Equinox. For Sun-Earth Day 2009, NASA will engage a worldwide audience in the celebration...
NASA
NASA | SDO's Ultra-high Definition View of 2012 Venus Transit
Launched on Feb. 11, 2010, the Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, is the most advanced spacecraft ever designed to study the sun. During its five-year mission, it will examine the sun's atmosphere, magnetic field and also provide a...