Solar Surface

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  Mercury Has Shrunk by Several Kilometers Over Billions of Years, Scientists Report

  Mercury’s surface reveals it has been shrinking for billions of years due to cooling and faulting. A new study estimates the planet’s radius has contracted by 2.7–5.6 kilometers, offering the most precise figures yet. The findings sharpen understanding of Mercury’s thermal evolution and could help scientists apply the same techniques to tec...

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  Colossal Solar Filament Eruption Sculpts 250,000-Mile 'Canyon of Fire' on the Sun’s Surface

  A massive July 15 filament eruption from the sun’s limb carved a 250,000‑mile‑long plasma canyon captured by NASA’s SDO. The spectacular rift, formed as magnetic fields realigned, featured 12,400‑mile‑high plasma walls. Although the eruption launched a coronal mass ejection into space, SOHO and GOES‑19 imagery confirm it’s heading a...

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  NASA’s Parker Probe Sends Closest-Ever Images from Inside the Sun’s Corona

  NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has achieved a solar milestone by capturing the closest-ever images of the Sun, taken just 3.8 million miles from its surface in December 2024. These WISPR images reveal unprecedented details of the corona, solar wind, and CME collisions. Scientists say this breakthrough will improve our ability to forecast space weather...

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  Mars Dust Devils May Spark Lightning, Might Pose Risks to Rovers: Study

  A new computer-modeling study reveals that dust devils on Mars—swirling columns of dust and air—may become electrically charged enough to spark lightning-like discharges. Led by researcher Varun Sheel, the study simulates how dry Martian conditions and frictional collisions between dust grains can generate strong electric fields inside these vo...

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  NSF’s DKIST Captures Sharpest-Ever Images of Fine Solar Magnetic Striations

  Using the NSF’s Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, scientists have captured the most detailed views of the Sun’s surface ever recorded. The new observations reveal ultra-narrow magnetic striations only 20 kilometers wide, etched into solar granules. These light and dark bands reflect subtle variations in magnetic field strength. Researchers say ...

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  JWST Reveals Pluto’s Haze Cools Atmosphere, Paints Charon’s Poles Red

  Pluto's thin haze of organic particles, confirmed by JWST’s mid-infrared observations, plays a crucial role in both cooling its mesosphere and launching methane into space. This methane escapes Pluto’s gravity, landing on Charon’s poles where radiation transforms it into reddish tholins. The study highlights how Pluto’s haze shapes not only...

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  MAVEN Reveals How Mars Lost Its Atmosphere and Became a Barren World

  NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft has provided the first direct evidence of "sputtering"—a powerful atmospheric escape process where solar wind particles blast atoms off Mars. The newly published study confirms that this process played a major role in the Red Planet’s transformation from a once-wet, habitable world to its current barren state. Argon ga...

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  Sharpest Solar Images Ever: Pink 'Raindrops' On The Sun Captured In Unprecedented Detail

  The corona, the Sun's outermost layer, stretches millions of kilometres into space and is mysteriously hotter than the underlying photosphere, a phenomenon known as the 'coronal heating problem.'

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  Sun Unleash a 600,000-Mile Filament in Fiery Eruption

  A spectacular 600,000-mile-long solar filament erupted off the sun’s surface in a fiery blast captured on video. While the resulting CME will miss Earth, experts are watching closely as solar activity ramps up toward Solar Cycle 25’s peak. The event underscores the sun’s ongoing volatility and potential for more powerful outbursts ahead.

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  World's Largest Solar Telescope Captures Stunning Details Of Sun's Surface

  The world's biggest solar telescope has captured the stunning details of the Sun's surface, showing sunspots and intense magnetic activity. The newly released image comes as the Sun moves towards its most active phase of its 11-year solar cycle.

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  NASA Study Finds Solar Wind Could Be Key to Water Formation on the Moon

  A recent study indicates that water on the lunar surface may come from the solar wind. The results suggest that other airless bodies in the solar system may also have water on their surfaces, therefore highlighting the possibility of finding such water on the surface of other such objects.

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  NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Completes Second Close Flyby of the Sun at Record Speed

  NASA’s Parker Solar Probe completed a close flyby of the Sun on March 22, travelling at 692,000 kilometres per hour and approaching within 6.1 million kilometres of the solar surface. The mission, designed to study solar winds and space weather, received a healthy signal back on March 25. The team, including NASA and Johns Hopkins APL experts, ha...

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  Enceladus' Geysers May Not Come from Underground Ocean, Study Suggests

  Enceladus, one of Saturn’s most intriguing moons, has long been thought to have water plumes erupting from its underground ocean. However, a recent study proposes an alternative explanation, suggesting the plumes may originate from a semi-liquid layer within the moon’s ice shell. Researchers believe shear heating along fractures creates slushy,...

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  Massive 500,000-Mile Coronal Hole on the Sun Blasts Solar Wind Toward Earth

  A gigantic coronal hole, spanning 500,000 miles, has formed on the sun’s surface, allowing solar wind to escape at speeds of over 310 miles per second. Forecasts indicate that this solar wind may reach Earth by January 31, triggering a minor (G1) geomagnetic storm. While no severe impact is expected, the storm could enhance auroras at higher lati...

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  Stunning Images Of Mercury's Surface Captured By ESA Spacecraft

  Barely larger than our own Moon, Mercury orbits precariously close to the Sun at an average distance of roughly 58 million kilometres.