flare

The Sun Hurls its Most Powerful Flare in a Decades

The Sun has been vying for attention these last couple of weeks. First with the appearance of a fabulous complex…

7 months ago

It Takes a Supercomputer to Properly Simulate a Neutron Star’s Surface

Neutron stars, the remains of massive stars that have imploded and gone supernova at the end of their life, can…

9 months ago

What Was the Carrington Event?

In 1859, the Sun gave off the most powerful solar flare on record. A blast of radiation and particles so…

8 years ago

Clear Skies Tonight? Go Out and See the Aurora

Talk of aurora is in the air.  Our earlier story today by Elizabeth Howell alerted you to the possibility of…

10 years ago

This Was the Best Watched Solar Flare Ever

Are giant dragons flying out of the Sun? No, this is much more awesome than that: it's an image of…

11 years ago

Giant sunspot convulses but all quiet on the aurora front … for now

What a crazy sunspot cycle. Weeks go by with only a few tiny spots freckling the sun, then all at…

11 years ago

Watch the Sun Split Apart

Here's your amazing oh-my-gosh-space-is-so-cool video of the day -- a "canyon of fire" forming on the Sun after the liftoff…

11 years ago

These Are Really, Really Big Sunspots Facing Earth Right Now

Do you feel like you're in the firing gallery? These sunspots are practically square-on to Earth right now. Although they…

11 years ago

Yet Another X-Class Flare From AR 1748

Last night, as Commander Hadfield and the Expedition 35 crew were returning to Earth in their Soyuz spacecraft, the Sun…

12 years ago

AR1654 is a Monster Sunspot. (And It’s Aiming Our Way.)

Active Region 1654 on the Sun's western limb, seen by SDO on Jan. 11 (NASA/SDO/HMI team. Diagram by J. Major.)…

12 years ago