ScienceDaily: Sun News

Cassini probe to take photo of Earth from deep space

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:19:19 EDT

NASA's Cassini spacecraft, now exploring Saturn, will take a picture of our home planet from a distance of hundreds of millions of miles on July 19. NASA is inviting the public to help acknowledge the historic interplanetary portrait as it is being taken.

Mystery of X-ray light from black holes solved

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 14:05:05 EDT

Astrophysicists using high-powered computer simulartions demonstrate that gas spiraling toward a black hole inevitably results in X-ray emissions.

Flare star WX UMa becomes 15 times brighter in less than 3 minutes

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 08:22:22 EDT

Astrophysicists have detected a star of low luminosity which within a matter of moments gave off a flare so strong that it became almost 15 times brighter. The star in question is the flare star WX UMa.

Evidence for extrasolar planet under construction

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 13:35:35 EDT

The keen vision of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has detected a mysterious gap in a vast protoplanetary disk of gas and dust swirling around the nearby star TW Hydrae, located 176 light-years away in the constellation Hydra (the Sea Serpent). The gap's presence is best explained as due to the effects of a growing, unseen planet that is gravitationally sweeping up material and carving out a lane in the disk, like a snow plow.

Moon radiation findings may reduce health risks to astronauts

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 14:43:43 EDT

Space scientists report that data gathered by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter show lighter materials like plastics provide effective shielding against the radiation hazards faced by astronauts during extended space travel. The finding could help reduce health risks to humans on future missions into deep space.

Astronomers gear up to discover Earth-like planets

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 19:08:08 EDT

Dust clouds around stars are thought to hide many undiscovered planets with conditions suitable for life, but observations have been hampered by the fact that only the brightest such clouds can be detected with current technology. Astronomers are developing a technique to detect faint dust clouds, many of which might hide Earth-like planets.

2011 Draconid meteor shower deposited a ton of meteoritic material on Earth

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 14:10:10 EDT

About a ton of material coming from comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner was deposited in the Earth's atmosphere on October 8th and 9th, 2011 during one of the most intense showers of shooting starts in the last decade, which registered an activity of more than 400 meteors per hour.

Cassini sees precursors to aerosol haze on Saturn's largest moon, Titan

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 13:58:58 EDT

Scientists working with data from NASA's Cassini mission have confirmed the presence of a population of complex hydrocarbons in the upper atmosphere of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, that later evolve into the components that give the moon a distinctive orange-brown haze. The presence of these complex, ringed hydrocarbons, known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), explains the origin of the aerosol particles found in the lowest haze layer that blankets Titan's surface. Scientists think these PAH compounds aggregate into larger particles as they drift downward.

Young star suggests our sun was a feisty toddler

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 13:36:36 EDT

If you had a time machine that could take you anywhere in the past, what time would you choose? Most people would probably pick the era of the dinosaurs in hopes of spotting a T. rex. But many astronomers would choose the period, four and a half billion years ago, that our solar system formed. New work suggests that our sun was both active and "feisty" in its infancy, growing in fits and starts while burping out bursts of X-rays.

Lightest exoplanet to be directly observed so far? Faint object moves near bright star

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 09:17:17 EDT

A team of astronomers using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope has imaged a faint object moving near a bright star. With an estimated mass of four to five times that of Jupiter, it would be the least massive planet to be directly observed outside the Solar System. The discovery is an important contribution to our understanding of the formation and evolution of planetary systems.

NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale team assembles final observatory

Thu, 30 May 2013 15:23:23 EDT

On May 20, 2013, the Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, mission team at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., reached an unprecedented milestone. The team mated the instrument and spacecraft decks to form the fourth and final MMS observatory. This is the first time Goddard has simultaneously engineered this many observatories, or spacecraft, for a single mission.

Radiation measured by NASA's Curiosity on voyage to Mars has implications for future human missions

Thu, 30 May 2013 14:59:59 EDT

Measurements taken by NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission as it delivered the Curiosity rover to Mars in 2012 are providing NASA the information it needs to design systems to protect human explorers from radiation exposure on deep-space expeditions in the future.

Comet ISON is hurtling toward uncertain destiny with Sun

Thu, 30 May 2013 11:13:13 EDT

A new series of images from Gemini Observatory shows Comet C/2012 S1 racing toward an uncomfortably close rendezvous with the Sun. In late November the comet could present a stunning sight in the twilight sky and remain easily visible, or even brilliant, into early December of this year.

NASA's WISE mission finds 'lost' asteroid family members

Wed, 29 May 2013 21:49:49 EDT

Data from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) have led to a new and improved family tree for asteroids in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter. Astronomers used millions of infrared snapshots from the asteroid-hunting portion of the WISE all-sky survey, called NEOWISE, to identify 28 new asteroid families. The snapshots also helped place thousands of previously hidden and uncategorized asteroids into families for the first time. The findings are a critical step in understanding the origins of asteroid families, and the collisions thought to have created these rocky clans.

NASA IRIS: Improving our view of the sun

Wed, 29 May 2013 13:01:01 EDT

In late June 2013, NASA will launch a new set of eyes to offer the most detailed look ever of the sun's lower atmosphere, called the interface region. This region is believed to play a crucial role in powering the sun's dynamic million-degree atmosphere, the corona. The Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph or IRIS mission will provide the best resolution so far of the widest range of temperatures for of the interface region, an area that has historically been difficult to study.

Hubble reveals the Ring Nebula’s true shape

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:32:32 EDT

The Ring Nebula's distinctive shape makes it a popular illustration for astronomy books. But new observations by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope of the glowing gas shroud around an old, dying, sun-like star reveal a new twist.

Magnetic field misbehavior in solar flares explained: The culprit is turbulence

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:03:03 EDT

When a solar flare erupts from the sun, its magnetic fields sometime break a widely accepted rule of physics. Why? Now we know.

Model of Sun's magnetic field created

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:11:11 EDT

Researchers have uncovered an important mechanism behind the generation of astrophysical magnetic fields such as that of the Sun.

NASA’s BARREL mission launches 20 balloons

Tue, 21 May 2013 13:45:45 EDT

In Antarctica in January, 2013 -- the summer at the South Pole -- scientists released 20 balloons, each eight stories tall, into the air to help answer an enduring space weather question: when the giant radiation belts surrounding Earth lose material, where do the extra particles actually go?

NASA's IRIS mission readies for a new challenge

Tue, 21 May 2013 13:43:43 EDT

NASA is getting ready to launch a new mission, a mission to observe a largely unexplored region of the solar atmosphere that powers its dynamic million-degree outer atmosphere and drives the solar wind. In late June 2013, the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph, or IRIS, will launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. IRIS will advance our understanding of the interface region, a region in the lower atmosphere of the sun where most of the sun's ultraviolet emissions are generated. Such emissions impact the near-Earth space environment and Earth's climate.

Weather on the outer planets only goes so deep

Thu, 16 May 2013 10:56:56 EDT

What is the long-range weather forecast for the giant planets Uranus and Neptune? These planets are home to extreme winds blowing at speeds of over 1000 km/hour, hurricane-like storms as large around as Earth, immense weather systems that last for years and fast-flowing jet streams. Researchers set an upper limit for the thickness of jet streams on Uranus and Neptune.

Scientists shape first global topographic map of Saturn's moon Titan

Wed, 15 May 2013 16:39:39 EDT

Scientists have created the first global topographic map of Saturn's moon Titan, giving researchers a valuable tool for learning more about one of the most Earthlike and interesting worlds in the solar system.

Entrepreneur giving space shuttle truss new uses

Tue, 14 May 2013 14:11:11 EDT

A truss design devised to help workers process space shuttles continues to find new uses as a space shuttle engineer-turned-entrepreneur adapts it to everything from a solar-powered electric generator to a mobile cellphone tower.

First X-class solar flares of 2013

Tue, 14 May 2013 08:37:37 EDT

On May 13, 2013, the sun emitted an X2.8-class flare, peaking at 12:05 p.m. EDT. This is the the strongest X-class flare of 2013 so far, surpassing in strength the X1.7-class flare that occurred 14 hours earlier. It is the 16th X-class flare of the current solar cycle and the third-largest flare of that cycle. The second-strongest was an X5.4 event on March 7, 2012. The strongest was an X6.9 on Aug. 9, 2011.

Impacts of strong solar flares

Tue, 14 May 2013 08:35:35 EDT

Given a legitimate need to protect Earth from the most intense forms of space weather -- great bursts of electromagnetic energy and particles that can sometimes stream from the sun -- some people worry that a gigantic "killer solar flare" could hurl enough energy to destroy Earth, but this is not actually possible.

Water on Moon, Earth came from same primitive meteorites

Thu, 09 May 2013 14:21:21 EDT

The water found on the moon, like that on Earth, came from small meteorites called carbonaceous chondrites in the first 100 million years or so after the solar system formed, researchers from have found.

Moon and Earth have common water source

Thu, 09 May 2013 14:20:20 EDT

New research finds that water inside the moon's mantle comes from the same source as water on Earth. The Moon is thought to have formed after a giant impact to a still-forming Earth 4.5 million years ago. These new findings suggest that Earth may have had water at the time of that impact, and some of that water may have been transferred to the moon.

Dead stars 'polluted' with planetary debris: Signs of Earth-like planets found

Thu, 09 May 2013 12:36:36 EDT

Astronomers have found signs of Earth-like planets in an unlikely place: the atmospheres of a pair of burnt-out stars in a nearby star cluster. The white dwarf stars are being polluted by debris from asteroid-like objects falling onto them. This discovery suggests that rocky planet assembly is common in clusters, say researchers.

NASA's Spitzer puts planets in a petri dish

Mon, 06 May 2013 16:10:10 EDT

Our galaxy is teeming with a wild variety of planets. In addition to our solar system's eight near-and-dear planets, there are more than 800 so-called exoplanets known to circle stars beyond our sun. One of the first "species" of exoplanets to be discovered is the hot Jupiters, also known as roasters. These are gas giants like Jupiters, but they orbit closely to their stars, blistering under the heat. Thanks to NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, researchers are beginning to dissect this exotic class of planets, revealing raging winds and other aspects of their turbulent nature.

Mars Opportunity rover in standby as commanding moratorium ends

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 10:27:27 EDT

During a moratorium on commanding this month while Mars passed nearly behind the sun -- a phase called solar conjunction -- NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity entered a type of standby mode.

Astronomer studies far-off worlds through 'characterization by proxy'

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:46:46 EDT

An astronomer is using Earth's interstellar neighbors to learn the nature of certain stars too far away to be directly measured or observed, and the planets they may host.

NASA probe observes meteors colliding with Saturn's rings

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:46:46 EDT

NASA's Cassini spacecraft has provided the first direct evidence of small meteoroids breaking into streams of rubble and crashing into Saturn's rings. These observations make Saturn's rings the only location besides Earth, the moon and Jupiter where scientists and amateur astronomers have been able to observe impacts as they occur. Studying the impact rate of meteoroids from outside the Saturnian system helps scientists understand how different planet systems in our solar system formed.

Hubble captures comet ISON

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 13:40:40 EDT

When the Hubble picture of ISON was taken on April 10, the comet was slightly closer than Jupiter's orbit at a distance of 386 million miles from the Sun. Hubble photographed a jet blasting dust particles off the sunward-facing side of the comet's nucleus. Preliminary measurements suggest that ISON's nucleus is no larger than three or four miles across.

Jupiter's atmosphere still contains water supplied by the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet impact

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 10:23:23 EDT

Researchers are reporting Herschel observations of water in Jupiter's stratosphere. It is a clear remnant of the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet impact on Jupiter nearly 20 years ago.

Grains of sand from ancient supernova found in meteorites: Supernova may have been the one that triggered the formation of the solar system

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 11:12:12 EDT

Scientists have discovered two tiny grains of silica (SiO2; the most common constituent of sand) in meteorites that fell to earth in Antarctica. Because of their isotopic composition these two grains are thought to be pure samples from a massive star that exploded before the birth of the solar system, perhaps the supernova whose explosion is thought to have triggered the collapse of a giant molecular cloud, giving birth to the Sun.

New techniques allow discovery of smallest super-Earth exoplanets

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 14:24:24 EDT

New research has perhaps the smallest super-earth planet in its host star habitable zone. Kepler 62f is a small, probably rocky planet orbiting a sun-like star in the Lyra constellation. The planet is about 1.4 times the size of Earth, receives about half as much solar flux, or heat and radiation, as Earth and circles its star in 267.3 (Earth) days.

New Earth-like planets found orbiting a Sun-like star

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 14:09:09 EDT

A team of scientists has discovered two Earth-like planets in the habitable orbit of a Sun-like star. Using observations gathered by NASA's Kepler Mission, the team found five planets orbiting a Sun-like star called Kepler-62. Four of these planets are so-called super-Earths, larger than our own planet, but smaller than even the smallest ice giant planet in our Solar System. These new super-Earths have radii of 1.3, 1.4, 1.6, and 1.9 times that of Earth. In addition, one of the five was a roughly Mars-sized planet, half the size of Earth.

NASA's Wind mission encounters 'SLAMS' waves

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 18:00:00 EDT

To tease out what happens at that boundary of the magnetosphere and to better understand how radiation and energy from the sun can cross it and move closer to Earth, NASA launches spacecraft into this region to observe the changing conditions. From 1998 to 2002, NASA's Wind spacecraft traveled through this foreshock region in front of Earth 17 times, providing new information about the physics there.

For the very first time, two spacecraft will fly in formation with millimeter precision

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:42:42 EDT

A new project aims to demonstrate that two satellites can move as one single object with sub-millimeter precision. This configuration will enable the creation of enormous space telescopes with the lens and detector hundreds of meters apart.

Blame it on the rain (from Saturn's rings): More charged water particles fall than thought

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 20:23:23 EDT

A new study tracks the "rain" of charged water particles into the atmosphere of Saturn and finds there is more of it and it falls across larger areas of the planet than previously thought. The study, whose observations were funded by NASA and whose analysis was led by the University of Leicester, England, reveals that the rain influences the composition and temperature structure of parts of Saturn's upper atmosphere.

Ghostly green bubble: Detailed image of planetary nebula

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 08:27:27 EDT

An intriguing new picture shows the glowing green planetary nebula IC 1295 surrounding a dim and dying star located about 3300 light-years away in the constellation of Scutum (The Shield). This is the most detailed picture of this object ever taken.

Retired star found with planets and debris disc

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 09:12:12 EDT

The European Space Agency's Herschel space observatory has provided the first images of a dust belt -- produced by colliding comets or asteroids -- orbiting a subgiant star known to host a planetary system.

NASA taps the power of zombie stars in two-in-one instrument

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 03:53:53 EDT

Neutron stars have been called the zombies of the cosmos. They shine even though they're technically dead, occasionally feeding on neighboring stars if they venture too close. Interestingly, these unusual objects, born when a massive star extinguishes its fuel and collapses under its own gravity, also may help future space travelers navigate to Mars and other distant destinations. NASA recently selected a new mission called the Neutron-star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) to not only reveal the physics that make neutron stars the densest objects in nature, but also to demonstrate a groundbreaking navigation technology that could revolutionize the agency's ability to travel to the far reaches of the solar system and beyond.

NASA's SORCE satellite marks a decade in the sun

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 10:22:22 EDT

NASA's Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) satellite has been providing data on the sun's irradiance for 10 years. SORCE measures electromagnetic radiation produced by the sun and the power per unit area of that energy on Earth's surface.

NASA's Swift sizes up comet ISON

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 12:51:51 EDT

Astronomers have used NASA's Swift satellite to check out comet C/2012 S1 (ISON), which may become one of the most dazzling in decades when it rounds the sun later this year.

Saturn is like an antiques shop, Cassini suggests; Moons and rings date back to solar system's birth

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 17:01:01 EDT

A new analysis of data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft suggests that Saturn's moons and rings are gently worn vintage goods from around the time of our solar system's birth. Though they are tinted on the surface from recent "pollution," these bodies date back more than 4 billion years. They are from around the time that the planetary bodies in our neighborhood began to form out of the protoplanetary nebula, the cloud of material still orbiting the sun after its ignition as a star.

Measuring Mars: The MAVEN magnetometer

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 19:41:41 EDT

When the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission begins its journey to the Red Planet in 2013, it will carry a sensitive magnetic-field instrument built and tested by a team at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Scheduled for launch in late 2013, MAVEN will be the first mission devoted to understanding the Martian upper atmosphere. The goal of MAVEN is to determine the history of the loss of atmospheric gases to space through time, providing answers about Mars' climate evolution.

Sun in the way will affect Mars missions in April

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 19:24:24 EDT

The positions of the planets next month will mean diminished communications between Earth and NASA's spacecraft at Mars. Mars will be passing almost directly behind the sun, from Earth's perspective. The sun can easily disrupt radio transmissions between the two planets during that near-alignment. To prevent an impaired command from reaching an orbiter or rover, mission controllers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., are preparing to suspend sending any commands to spacecraft at Mars for weeks in April. Transmissions from Mars to Earth will also be reduced.

Voyager 1 has entered a new region of space, sudden changes in cosmic rays indicate

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 13:42:42 EDT

Thirty-five years after its launch, Voyager 1 appears to have travelled beyond the influence of the Sun and exited the heliosphere, according to a new study.

New Curiosity 'safe mode' status expected to be brief

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 11:11:11 EDT

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity is expected to resume science investigations in a few days, as engineers quickly diagnosed a software issue that prompted the rover to put itself into a precautionary standby status over the weekend.

Leaping lunar dust: Electrically charged dust near shadowed craters can get lofted above Moon's surface

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 10:43:43 EDT

Electrically charged lunar dust near shadowed craters can get lofted above the surface and jump over the shadowed region, bouncing back and forth between sunlit areas on opposite sides, according to new calculations by NASA scientists.

Distant planetary system is a super-sized solar system

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 14:42:42 EDT

Astronomers have made the most detailed examination yet of the atmosphere of a Jupiter-like planet beyond our Solar System. A spectrum reveals that the carbon to oxygen ratio is consistent with the core accretion scenario, the model thought to explain the formation of our Solar System.

Particles and fields package integrated on upcoming Mars-bound spacecraft

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 14:11:11 EDT

The six science instruments that comprise the Particles and Fields Package that will characterize the solar wind and ionosphere of Mars have been integrated aboard NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN spacecraft. The spacecraft is on track for launch later this year.

Observing exoplanets like never before: New instrument reveals exotic nature of four planets orbiting same nearby star

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 17:16:16 EDT

Thanks to a new high-tech gadget, astronomers have observed four planets orbiting a star relatively close to the sun in unprecedented detail, revealing the roughly ten-Jupiter-mass planets to be among the most exotic ones known.

Astronomers conduct first remote reconnaissance of another planetary system

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 17:37:37 EDT

Researchers have conducted a remote reconnaissance of a distant planetary system with a new telescope imaging system that sifts through the blinding light of stars. Using a suite of high-tech instrumentation and software called Project 1640, the scientists collected the first chemical fingerprints, or spectra, of this system's four red exoplanets, which orbit a star 128 light years away from Earth.

Closest star system found in a century

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 12:40:40 EDT

A pair of newly discovered stars is the third-closest star system to the Sun and the closest discovered since 1916. At 6.5 light years, it is so close that Earth's television transmissions from 2006 are now arriving there. It is an excellent hunting ground for planets because it is very close to Earth and, in the distant future, it might be one of the first destinations for manned expeditions outside our solar system.

Comet PANSTARRS rises to the occasion mid-March

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 08:21:21 EST

Comets visible to the naked eye are a rare delicacy in the celestial smorgasbord of objects in the nighttime sky. Scientists estimate that the opportunity to see one of these icy dirtballs advertising their cosmic presence so brilliantly they can be seen without the aid of a telescope or binoculars happens only once every five to 10 years. That said, there may be two naked-eye comets available for your viewing pleasure this year.

Hubble finds 'birth certificate' of oldest known star

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 14:51:51 EST

Astronomers have taken an important step closer to finding the birth certificate of a star that's been around for a very long time. The star could be as old as 14.5 billion years (plus or minus 0.8 billion years), which at first glance would make it older than the universe's calculated age of about 13.8 billion years, an obvious dilemma.

Bright comet in the evening sky

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 09:23:23 EST

Skywatchers in the northern hemisphere should enjoy a rare treat in the next few weeks, as Comet C/2011 L4 PANSTARRS enters the evening sky. Although the brightness of comets is notoriously difficult to predict, it looks as though this object may even be visible to the naked eye in the second half of March. Discovered by and named after the Pan-STARRS telescope in Hawaii, the comet was first detected in June 2011, when it was an extremely faint object 1.2 billion km from the Sun. Looking at its path, astronomers soon realized that it could become very bright at its closest approach to the Sun (perihelion) on March 10 this year.

Modeling Jupiter and Saturn's possible origins

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 17:46:46 EST

New theoretical modeling provides clues to how the gas giant planets in our solar system -- Jupiter and Saturn -- might have formed and evolved.