A solar wind stream hit Earth's magnetic field during the early hours of August 24th, sparking geomagnetic activity around the Arctic Circle. "Bright, fast-moving auroras lit up the sky just after midnight," reports Sean M. Scully, who sends this picture f
Every time you look, sunspot 1271 has a new outline. For the past two days the active region has been in a constant state of change, altering its shape on an hourly basis. Click on the image for 48 hours of shape-shifting:These rapid changes have caused the
After a weekend of quiet decay, sunspots 1271 and 1272 are growing again. Click on the image to view 24 hours of development:The increase in size has not yet translated into a significant increase in flares. Solar activity remains low, although this could change if
A double-barreled hole has opened up in the sun’s atmosphere and it is spewing a split-stream of solar wind toward Earth. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this composite UV image of the double coronal hole on August 20th:Sky watchers should be alert for
Solar Activity continues at fairly low levels with only C-Class activity taking place in the past 24 hours. Sunspot 1271 is the largest visible area and it may pose a small threat for an M-Class event.Farside CME activity continues and you can view all of the action
For the first time, a spacecraft far from Earth has turned and watched a solar storm engulf our planet. The movie, released today during a NASA press conference, has galvanized solar physicists, who say it could lead to important advances in space weather forecasting.
Yesterday, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory witnessed a spectacular explosion on the sun that seemed to pass perilously close to Venus.As the movie shows, the CME passed harmlessly. There was no collision, and it wasn’t even close. Although Venus seems to be
A big new sunspot is emerging over the sun's northeastern limb. AR1271 has at least four dark cores and it is crackling with small flares. The sunspot's entrance was captured in this 24-hour movie from the Solar Dynamics Observatory: NOAA forecasters…
After a few days of quiet, the sun is coming alive again. Amateur astronomers around the world report a beautiful complex of prominences dancing along the eastern limb, one of them big enough to swallow Earth:The blue dot is merely a digital image of Earth inserted
Active sunspot 1263, which just two days ago produced the most powerful solar flare of the new Solar Cycle (an X7), has left the Earthside of the sun. It is now beginning a two week transit across the solar farside. We can still see signs of its ongoing activity,
