https://www.sciencedaily.com/news/space_time/northern_lights/ Northern Lights. Read the latest news on aurora borialis. See images of the Northern Lights, including some taken from space. en-us Wed, 22 Apr 2026 09:31:44 EDT Wed, 22 Apr 2026 09:31:44 EDT 60 https://www.sciencedaily.com/images/scidaily-logo-rss.png https://www.sciencedaily.com/news/space_time/northern_lights/ For more science news, visit ScienceDaily. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/04/260405003753.htm Mars may look like a quiet, dusty world, but it’s actually buzzing with hidden electrical activity. Powerful dust storms and swirling dust devils generate static electricity strong enough to spark faint glowing discharges across the planet, triggering chemical reactions that reshape its surface and atmosphere. Scientists have now shown that these tiny lightning-like events can create a surprising mix of chemicals—including chlorine compounds and carbonates—and even leave behind distinct isotopic “fingerprints.” Sun, 05 Apr 2026 02:54:28 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/04/260405003753.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/03/260326075606.htm Mars may look like a frozen desert today, but new evidence suggests its watery past didn’t simply fade away quietly—it may have been blasted into space by powerful dust storms. Scientists have discovered that even relatively small, localized storms can hurl water vapor high into the atmosphere, where it breaks apart and escapes. Fri, 27 Mar 2026 05:11:12 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/03/260326075606.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/03/260314030452.htm Mars didn’t always look like the barren world we see today. Over billions of years, the Sun’s solar wind stripped away much of its atmosphere, helping transform it from a warmer, wetter planet into a frozen desert. NASA’s twin-spacecraft ESCAPADE mission aims to watch this process in action by measuring how the solar wind interacts with Mars’ fragile magnetic environment. The findings could reveal how Mars lost its habitability—and help prepare humans for future missions there. Sat, 14 Mar 2026 03:04:52 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/03/260314030452.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260224023209.htm Scientists have proposed a surprising connection between solar flares and earthquakes. When solar activity disturbs the ionosphere, it may generate electric fields that penetrate fragile fracture zones in Earth’s crust. If a fault is already critically stressed, this extra electrostatic pressure could help trigger a quake. The idea doesn’t claim direct causation, but it offers a fresh way to think about how space weather and seismic events might interact. Tue, 24 Feb 2026 09:09:35 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260224023209.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260221000303.htm For the first time, scientists have mapped Uranus’s upper atmosphere in three dimensions, tracking temperatures and charged particles up to 5,000 kilometers above the clouds. Webb’s sharp vision revealed glowing auroral bands and unexpected dark regions shaped by the planet’s wildly tilted magnetic field. Sat, 21 Feb 2026 02:31:36 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260221000303.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260128075341.htm Low-Earth orbit is more crowded—and fragile—than it looks. Satellites constantly weave past each other, burning fuel and making dozens of evasive maneuvers every year just to stay safe. A major solar storm could disable navigation and communications, turning that careful dance into chaos. According to new calculations, it may take just days—not decades—for a catastrophic chain reaction to begin, potentially choking off humanity’s access to space for generations. Wed, 28 Jan 2026 10:38:41 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260128075341.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260127112135.htm A repeating fast radio burst has just given up one of its biggest secrets. Long-term observations revealed a rare signal flare caused by plasma likely ejected from a nearby companion star. This shows the burst source isn’t alone, but part of a binary system. The finding strengthens the case that magnetars interacting with stellar companions can generate repeating cosmic flashes. Tue, 27 Jan 2026 11:21:35 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260127112135.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260122032004.htm NASA astronaut Suni Williams has retired after 27 years of service and a career defined by endurance, leadership, and firsts in space. She spent 608 days in orbit, completed nine spacewalks, and twice commanded the International Space Station. Williams flew on everything from the space shuttle to Boeing’s Starliner, playing a key role in shaping modern human spaceflight. Her legacy will influence future missions to the Moon and beyond. Thu, 22 Jan 2026 04:11:44 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260122032004.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260121034114.htm Solar Orbiter has captured the clearest evidence yet that a solar flare grows through a cascading “magnetic avalanche.” Small, weak magnetic disturbances rapidly multiplied, triggering stronger and stronger explosions that accelerated particles to extreme speeds. The process produced streams of glowing plasma blobs that rained through the Sun’s atmosphere long after the flare itself. Wed, 21 Jan 2026 03:41:14 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260121034114.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260112214310.htm Scientists have pulled back the curtain on one of the most extreme solar regions seen in decades, tracking it almost nonstop for three months as it unleashed powerful space weather. By combining views from two spacecraft—one near Earth and one orbiting the Sun—researchers followed a massive active region as it grew, twisted, and ultimately triggered the strongest geomagnetic storms since 2003. Tue, 13 Jan 2026 06:44:15 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260112214310.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260110211158.htm Scientists have discovered an enormous stream of super-hot gas erupting from a nearby galaxy, driven by a powerful black hole at its center. The jets stretch farther than the galaxy itself and spiral outward in a rare, never-before-seen pattern. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope pierced through thick dust to reveal this violent outflow. The process is so intense it’s robbing the galaxy of star-forming gas at a staggering rate. Sat, 10 Jan 2026 23:02:00 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260110211158.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260104202730.htm Tiny bits of Earth’s atmosphere have been drifting to the moon for billions of years, guided by Earth’s magnetic field. Rather than blocking particles, the magnetic field can funnel them along invisible lines that sometimes stretch all the way to the moon. This explains mysterious gases found in Apollo samples and suggests lunar soil may hold a long-term archive of Earth’s history. It could also become a valuable resource for future lunar explorers. Mon, 05 Jan 2026 00:47:06 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260104202730.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/12/251209043034.htm A sudden X-ray flare from a supermassive black hole in galaxy NGC 3783 triggered ultra-fast winds racing outward at a fifth the speed of light—an event never witnessed before. Using XMM-Newton and XRISM, astronomers caught the blast unfold in real time, revealing how tangled magnetic fields can rapidly “untwist” and hurl matter into space much like an enormous, cosmic-scale version of the Sun’s coronal mass ejections. Tue, 09 Dec 2025 09:02:44 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/12/251209043034.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/12/251203084928.htm For thirty years, SOHO has watched the Sun from a stable perch in space, revealing the inner workings of our star and surviving crises that nearly ended the mission. Its long-term observations uncovered a single global plasma conveyor belt inside the Sun, detailed how solar brightness subtly shifts over the solar cycle, and turned SOHO into an unexpected comet-hunting champion with more than 5,000 discoveries. Wed, 03 Dec 2025 09:03:57 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/12/251203084928.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/11/251122234723.htm A massive solar storm in May 2024 gave scientists an unprecedented look at how Earth’s protective plasma layer collapses under intense space weather. With the Arase satellite in a perfect observing position, researchers watched the plasmasphere shrink to a fraction of its usual size and take days to rebuild. The event pushed auroras far beyond their normal boundaries and revealed that a rare “negative storm” in the ionosphere dramatically slowed the atmosphere’s ability to recover. These observations offer valuable insight into how extreme solar activity disrupts satellites, GPS signals, and communication systems. Sun, 23 Nov 2025 01:00:14 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/11/251122234723.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/11/251114041208.htm Scientists have finally confirmed a powerful coronal mass ejection from another star, using LOFAR radio data paired with XMM-Newton’s X-ray insights. The eruption blasted into space at extraordinary speeds, strong enough to strip atmospheres from close-orbiting worlds. This suggests planets around active red dwarfs may be far less hospitable than hoped. Fri, 14 Nov 2025 09:07:09 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/11/251114041208.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/11/251107010257.htm A colossal black hole 10 billion light-years away has been caught devouring one of the universe’s biggest stars, unleashing a flare 30 times brighter than any seen before. The flare, detected by Caltech’s ZTF, likely marks a tidal disruption event — when a star is shredded by a black hole’s gravity. Fri, 07 Nov 2025 08:52:52 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/11/251107010257.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/11/251102205023.htm Astronomers observed a massive, multi-temperature plasma eruption from a young Sun-like star, revealing how early solar explosions could shape planets. These fierce events may have influenced the atmosphere and life-forming chemistry of the early Earth. Mon, 03 Nov 2025 04:09:15 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/11/251102205023.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/10/251030075141.htm Earth’s magnetosphere, once thought to have a simple electric polarity pattern, has revealed a surprising twist. New satellite data and advanced simulations show that the morning side of the magnetosphere carries a negative charge, not positive as long believed. Researchers from Kyoto, Nagoya, and Kyushu Universities found that while the polar regions retain the expected polarity, the equatorial areas flip it entirely. Fri, 31 Oct 2025 01:12:13 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/10/251030075141.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/10/251027023741.htm Researchers have directly observed torsional Alfvén waves twisting through the Sun’s corona — magnetic waves first predicted over 80 years ago. Captured using the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, these motions could explain why the corona is millions of degrees hotter than the Sun’s surface. The finding helps validate decades of solar physics theories and opens new paths to studying solar energy transfer. Mon, 27 Oct 2025 06:48:09 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/10/251027023741.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/10/251015032312.htm Scientists at the University of Hawaiʻi have discovered why it rains on the Sun. Solar rain, made of cooling plasma, forms rapidly during solar flares, a mystery now solved by modeling time-varying elements like iron. The finding upends long-held assumptions about the Sun’s atmosphere and could improve predictions of space weather events. It’s a breakthrough that forces a rewrite of how we understand the Sun’s outer layers. Wed, 15 Oct 2025 09:14:33 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/10/251015032312.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/10/251014014438.htm High above the Sun’s blazing equator lie its mysterious poles, the birthplace of fast solar winds and the heart of its magnetic heartbeat. For decades, scientists have struggled to see these regions, hidden from Earth’s orbit. With the upcoming Solar Polar-orbit Observatory (SPO) mission, humanity will finally gain a direct view of the poles, unlocking secrets about the Sun’s magnetic cycles, space weather, and the forces that shape the heliosphere. Tue, 14 Oct 2025 06:30:56 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/10/251014014438.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/09/250929054927.htm The James Webb Telescope has revealed fierce auroras, storms, and unchanging sand-like clouds on the rogue planet SIMP-0136. These insights are pushing the boundaries of our understanding of alien atmospheres and exoplanet weather. Mon, 29 Sep 2025 20:26:27 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/09/250929054927.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/09/250925025403.htm Physicists are eyeing charged gravitinos—ultra-heavy, stable particles from supergravity theory—as possible Dark Matter candidates. Unlike axions or WIMPs, these particles carry electric charge but remain undetectable due to their scarcity. With detectors like JUNO and DUNE, researchers now have a chance to spot their unique signal, a breakthrough that could link particle physics with gravity. Thu, 25 Sep 2025 23:01:31 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/09/250925025403.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/09/250916221836.htm Scientists from the University of St Andrews have discovered that ions in solar flares can reach scorching temperatures more than 60 million degrees—6.5 times hotter than previously believed. This breakthrough challenges decades of assumptions in solar physics and offers a surprising solution to a 50-year-old puzzle about why flare spectral lines appear broader than expected. Wed, 17 Sep 2025 06:52:31 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/09/250916221836.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/09/250911073154.htm NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission has uncovered surprising behavior of pickup ions drifting through the solar wind near Earth. These particles, once thought to be minor players, appear capable of generating waves and influencing how the solar wind heats and evolves. If true, it could force scientists to revise models of solar system dynamics, with implications reaching all the way to the edge of the heliosphere. Thu, 11 Sep 2025 23:23:32 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/09/250911073154.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/09/250903075244.htm Solar Orbiter has identified the Sun’s dual “engines” for superfast electrons: explosive flares and sweeping coronal mass ejections. By catching over 300 events close to their origin, the mission has solved key mysteries about how these particles travel and why they sometimes appear late. The findings will improve space weather forecasts and help shield spacecraft and astronauts from solar radiation. Wed, 03 Sep 2025 10:10:15 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/09/250903075244.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250826005222.htm Astronomers using the Inouye Solar Telescope have captured the sharpest-ever images of a solar flare, revealing coronal loops as thin as 21 km wide. These threadlike plasma structures, imaged during an X1.3-class flare, confirm long-standing theories about loop scales and may represent the fundamental building blocks of flare activity. The discovery pushes solar science into new territory, opening doors to improved space weather forecasting and deeper understanding of magnetic reconnection. Tue, 26 Aug 2025 00:52:22 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250826005222.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250820000747.htm NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has directly observed magnetic reconnection in the Sun’s atmosphere for the first time, confirming decades-old theories about solar explosions. This discovery bridges small-scale events near Earth with massive solar eruptions that shape space weather. The data provides crucial insights to improve predictions of solar storms that can impact our technology. Wed, 20 Aug 2025 02:50:14 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250820000747.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250816113525.htm Rising CO₂ levels will make the upper atmosphere colder and thinner, altering how geomagnetic storms impact satellites. Future storms could cause sharper density spikes despite lower overall density, increasing drag-related challenges. Sun, 17 Aug 2025 23:04:56 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250816113525.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250805041626.htm This is the first confirmed case of a star that survived an encounter with a supermassive black hole and came back for more. This discovery upends conventional wisdom about such tidal disruption events and suggests that these spectacular flares may be just the opening act in a longer, more complex story. Wed, 06 Aug 2025 05:04:48 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250805041626.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/07/250711082641.htm In its closest-ever dive into the Sun’s atmosphere, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has returned stunning new images and data that bring scientists closer to solving one of the Sun’s biggest mysteries: how the solar wind is born. Captured from just 3.8 million miles away, the footage shows chaotic collisions of solar eruptions, twisting magnetic fields, and the origin zones of the solar wind—phenomena that shape space weather and can disrupt life on Earth. This unprecedented view from inside the corona is helping scientists understand and predict the Sun’s violent behavior like never before. Fri, 11 Jul 2025 11:03:27 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/07/250711082641.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/07/250704032938.htm Scientists are on the trail of a mysterious five-particle structure that could challenge one of the biggest theories in physics: string theory. This rare particle—never seen before and predicted not to exist within string theory—might leave behind vanishing tracks in the Large Hadron Collider, like ghostly footprints that suddenly disappear. Spotting it wouldn’t just shake up physics theory—it might also reveal clues to dark matter, the invisible stuff that makes up most of the universe. Sat, 05 Jul 2025 05:06:15 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/07/250704032938.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/06/250628051357.htm A newly discovered radio halo, 10 billion light-years away, reveals that galaxy clusters in the early universe were already steeped in high-energy particles. The finding hints at ancient black hole activity or cosmic particle collisions fueling this energy. Sat, 28 Jun 2025 13:06:19 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/06/250628051357.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/06/250621111205.htm A stunning breakthrough in solar physics reveals ultra-fine magnetic structures on the Sun's surface, thanks to the NSF's Inouye Solar Telescope. Researchers captured never-before-seen bright and dark stripes—called striations—within solar granules. These features behave like magnetic curtains rippling across the Sun, reshaping our understanding of magnetic field dynamics at microscopic scales. By achieving a resolution of just 20 kilometers, scientists could match real observations with simulations, revealing subtle magnetic fluctuations that alter how we see the solar surface. These discoveries illuminate not only solar activity but also magnetic behaviors in faraway cosmic environments, with implications for predicting space weather on Earth. Sat, 21 Jun 2025 11:12:05 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/06/250621111205.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/06/250616040223.htm For the first time in history, we re seeing the Sun from an angle no one ever has: from above and below its poles. Thanks to the European Space Agency s Solar Orbiter and its tilted orbit, scientists have captured groundbreaking images and data that are unlocking mysteries about the Sun s magnetic field, its puzzling 11-year cycle, and the powerful solar wind. Instruments aboard the spacecraft are already revealing strange, chaotic magnetic behavior near the Sun s south pole and tracking solar particles like never before. As the Orbiter climbs to even steeper viewing angles over the next few years, the secrets of our star may finally be within reach. Mon, 16 Jun 2025 04:02:23 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/06/250616040223.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/06/250612001311.htm NASA s CODEX experiment aboard the International Space Station is revealing the Sun like never before. Using advanced filters and a specialized coronagraph, CODEX has captured images showing that the solar wind streams of charged particles from the Sun is not a smooth, uniform flow but rather a turbulent, gusty outpouring of hot plasma. These groundbreaking observations will allow scientists to measure the speed and temperature of the solar wind with unprecedented detail, providing critical insights for space weather forecasting and understanding how solar activity impacts Earth and space technology. Thu, 12 Jun 2025 00:13:11 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/06/250612001311.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/06/250610074256.htm A violent solar eruption on May 31 launched a coronal mass ejection (CME) hurtling toward Earth, triggering a rare G4-level geomagnetic storm alert. Captured in real-time by U.S. Naval Research Laboratory instruments, this cosmic blast has the potential to disrupt satellites, communications, and military systems. Tue, 10 Jun 2025 07:42:56 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/06/250610074256.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/06/250603114631.htm Scientists have identified a new source of energetic particles near the Sun. These definitive observations were made by instruments aboard NASA's Parker Solar Probe, which detected the powerful phenomena as the spacecraft dipped in and out of the solar corona. Tue, 03 Jun 2025 11:46:31 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/06/250603114631.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250527124440.htm Scientists have produced the finest images of the Sun's corona to date. To make these high-resolution images and movies, the team developed a new 'coronal adaptive optics' system that removes blur from images caused by the Earth's atmosphere. Their ground-breaking results pave the way for deeper insight into coronal heating, solar eruptions, and space weather, and open an opportunity for new discoveries in the Sun's atmosphere. Tue, 27 May 2025 12:44:40 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250527124440.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250521124444.htm Scientists have discovered how solar activity affects the velocity distribution and evolution of helium pickup ions. Wed, 21 May 2025 12:44:44 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250521124444.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250514120236.htm Researchers propose a new theory for the origin of dark matter, the invisible substance thought to give the universe its shape and structure. Their mathematical models show that dark matter could have formed in the early universe from the collision of massless particles that lost their energy and condensed -- like steam turning into water -- into cold, heavy particles. They report that their theory can be tested using existing data -- these dark matter particles would have a unique signature on the radiation that fills all of the universe known as the Cosmic Microwave Background. Wed, 14 May 2025 12:02:36 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250514120236.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250507130338.htm Magnetar flares, colossal cosmic explosions, may be directly responsible for the creation and distribution of heavy elements across the universe, suggests a new study. Wed, 07 May 2025 13:03:38 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250507130338.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250424165651.htm The world's largest solar telescope has reached an important milestone. The data published now were obtained during the technical commissioning of the instrument. Thu, 24 Apr 2025 16:56:51 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250424165651.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250415183433.htm Observations of Jupiter show that ammonia is unevenly distributed in the upper atmosphere, against expectations of uniform mixing. Scientists found evidence for a complicated but apparently real process associated with fierce lightning storms: strong updrafts generate slushy, ice-coated hailstones of ammonia and water that eventually plunge into the planet and deplete areas of ammonia. This is part of the first 3D picture of the planet's atmosphere, which shows storms are primarily shallow. Tue, 15 Apr 2025 18:34:33 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250415183433.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250409114846.htm The NASA/ESA Solar Orbiter recently recorded the highest-ever concentration of a rare helium isotope (3He) emitted from the Sun. A Southwest Research Institute-led team of scientists sought the source of this unusual occurrence to better understand the mechanisms that drive solar energetic particles (SEPs) that permeate our solar system. SEPs are high-energy, accelerated particles including protons, electrons and heavy ions associated with solar events like flares and coronal mass ejections. Wed, 09 Apr 2025 11:48:46 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250409114846.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/03/250310131327.htm A mysterious phenomenon at the center of our galaxy could be the result of a different type of dark matter. Mon, 10 Mar 2025 13:13:27 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/03/250310131327.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/02/250218113650.htm Astrophysicists have observed our central supermassive black hole. They found the accretion disk is constantly emitting flares without periods of rest. Shorter, faint flares and longer, bright flares appear to be generated by separate processes. Tue, 18 Feb 2025 11:36:50 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/02/250218113650.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/01/250115165333.htm A new analysis of data from the PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) reveals fresh evidence that collisions of even very small nuclei with large ones might create tiny specks of a quark-gluon plasma (QGP). Scientists believe such a substance of free quarks and gluons, the building blocks of protons and neutrons, permeated the universe a fraction of a second after the Big Bang. Wed, 15 Jan 2025 16:53:33 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/01/250115165333.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/01/250110143542.htm A whitish, grey patch that sometimes appears in the night sky alongside the northern lights has now been explained. Fri, 10 Jan 2025 14:35:42 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/01/250110143542.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/12/241219190313.htm Scientist have begun to reveal the particle-level processes that create the type of auroras that dance rapidly across the sky. The Kinetic-scale Energy and momentum Transport experiment -- KiNET-X -- lifted off from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on May 16, 2021, in the final minutes of the final night of the nine-day launch window. Thu, 19 Dec 2024 19:03:13 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/12/241219190313.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/12/241213140634.htm The galaxy M87, located in the Virgo constellation, provided the first-ever photo of a black hole in 2019, when the Event Horizon Telescope captured an image of the supermassive black hole at the galaxy's center. An international research team has now observed a teraelectronvolt gamma-ray flare seven orders of magnitude -- tens of millions of times -- larger than the event horizon, or surface of the black hole itself. A flare of this intensity -- which has not been observed in over a decade -- can offer crucial insights into how particles, such as electrons and positrons, are accelerated in the extreme environments near black holes. Fri, 13 Dec 2024 14:06:34 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/12/241213140634.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/12/241212145729.htm Stars similar to the Sun produce a gigantic outburst of radiation on average about once every hundred years per star. Such superflares release more energy than a trillion hydrogen bombs and make all previously recorded solar flares pale in comparison. This estimate is based on an inventory of 56450 sun-like stars. It shows that previous studies have significantly underestimated the eruptive potential of these stars. In data from NASA's space telescope Kepler, superflaring, sun-like stars can be found ten to a hundred times more frequently than previously assumed. The Sun, too, is likely capable of similarly violent eruptions. Thu, 12 Dec 2024 14:57:29 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/12/241212145729.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/12/241209163211.htm A NASA Hubble Space Telescope observation program called OPAL (Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy) obtains long-term baseline observations of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune in order to understand their atmospheric dynamics and evolution. Mon, 09 Dec 2024 16:32:11 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/12/241209163211.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/12/241209123224.htm Dust storms on Mars could one day pose dangers to human astronauts, damaging equipment and burying solar panels. New research gets closer to predicting when extreme weather might erupt on the Red Planet. Mon, 09 Dec 2024 12:32:24 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/12/241209123224.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/12/241205143040.htm Colorful auroras appeared around Japan's Honshu and Hokkaido islands on May 11, 2024, sparked by an intense magnetic storm. Usually, auroras observed at low latitudes appear red due to the emission of oxygen atoms. But on this day, a salmon pink aurora was observed throughout the night, while an unusually tall, blue-dominant aurora appeared shortly before midnight. Thu, 05 Dec 2024 14:30:40 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/12/241205143040.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/11/241126135634.htm Dark ovals in Jupiter's polar haze, visible only at UV wavelengths, were first noticed 25 years ago, then ignored. A new study shows that these dark UV ovals are common, appearing at the south pole in 75% of Hubble Space Telescope images taken since 2015. They appear less often at the north pole. The scientists theorize that a magnetic vortex generated in the ionosphere stirs up and concentrates the hydrocarbon haze that blankets the poles. Tue, 26 Nov 2024 13:56:34 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/11/241126135634.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/11/241125124728.htm Scientists have recently identified electrons and positrons with the highest energies ever recorded on Earth. They provide evidence of cosmic processes emitting colossal amounts of energy, the origins of which are as yet unknown. Mon, 25 Nov 2024 12:47:28 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/11/241125124728.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/10/241015183526.htm Experts have announced that the Sun has reached its solar maximum period, which could continue for the next year. Scientists will not be able to determine the exact peak of this solar maximum period for many months because it's only identifiable after they've tracked a consistent decline in solar activity after that peak. However, scientists have identified that the last two years on the Sun have been part of this active phase of the solar cycle, due to the consistently high number of sunspots during this period. Tue, 15 Oct 2024 18:35:26 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/10/241015183526.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/10/241011141015.htm Researchers have made a significant advancement in understanding the underlying heating mechanism of the sun's atmosphere, finding that reflected plasma waves could drive the heating of coronal holes. Fri, 11 Oct 2024 14:10:15 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/10/241011141015.htm