Solar Surface

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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.

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  Parker Solar Probe's Closest Sun Flyby Sets Records, Signal Expected Soon

  The Parker Solar Probe achieved the closest-ever sun flyby on Christmas Eve, reaching within 3.8 million miles of the solar surface and travelling at 430,000 miles per hour. Scientists are now waiting for a signal expected on December 27 to confirm the spacecraft’s health. Detailed telemetry and collected data are anticipated by January 1, with o...

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  NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Achieves Closest Sun Flyby Ever on December 24

  NASA’s Parker Solar Probe will make its closest-ever flyby of the sun on December 24, 2024, passing within 3.8 million miles of the solar surface at a speed of 430,000 mph. This marks the 22nd close encounter of the spacecraft’s mission, which aims to provide unprecedented insights into the sun’s corona and other solar phenomena. Despite extr...

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  Chiron's Unique Surface and Coma: Key Insights from Recent Space Research

  Recent research has provided critical insights into Chiron, a celestial body between Jupiter and Neptune. Through observations by the James Webb Space Telescope, scientists discovered volatile ices and gases such as carbon dioxide and methane on its surface. Chiron’s gaseous coma offers researchers the opportunity to study gases from below its su...