Double sunspot 1263 is a whopper. Its two dark cores are each wider than Earth, and the entire region stretches more than 65,000 km from end to end. The clarity of image is impressive. Note the granulation of the stellar surface surrounding the main dark cores.
Magnetic fields above sunspot 1261 erupted this morning at 0648 UT, producing an M1-class solar flare. The blast also hurled a bright coronal mass ejection toward Earth. This movie from the STEREO-Ahead spacecraft shows the cloud racing away from the sun at almost
Geomagnetic K-index of 5 alert is issued by Space Weather Prediction Center. Kp-indices of 5 or greater indicate storm-level geomagnetic activity. Geomagnetic storms have been associated with satellite surface charging and increased atmospheric drag.Speed of solar
Sunspot AR1261 unleashed a brief but strong M9-class solar flare on July 30th at 0209 UT. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the flare’s extreme ultraviolet flash:Because of its brevity, the eruption probably did not hurl a substantial CME toward Earth,
Sunspot 1260 has developed a delta-class magnetic field that harbors energy for powerful X-class solar flares. Such an eruption today would be Earth-directed as the sunspot turns to face our planet.Sunspot 1260 is leading a parade of big sunspots across the solar
A surprise meteor shower spotted in February was likely caused by cosmic “bread crumbs” dropped by an undiscovered comet that could potentially pose a threat to Earth.The tiny meteoroids that streaked through Earth’s atmosphere for a few hours on Feb. 4 represent a
NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) has found the very first asteroid that (more or less) shares an orbit with Earth! Called 2010 TK7, this asteroid is about 300 meters (roughly 1000 feet) across, and is the first in an up-to-now theoretical class of
After more than a week of quiet, solar activity is picking up. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory is monitoring two big sunspot groups now emerging over the sun’s eastern limb. Click on the image to view a 40-hour movie.The leading sunspot group, AR1260, is crackling
When two small NASA rockets launched into suborbital space to probe the Earth’s ionosphere this month, they kicked off a surprisingly busy week for rockets around the world. No less than seven rockets blasted off from the United States, Russia, China and India in as
Five years after Pluto was stripped of its planet status, astronomers have discovered yet another moon in orbit around it, bringing its entourage to four. The tiny body may have been born in the same collision that gave birth to Pluto's other moons.The Hubble Space
