by Mike Wall

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft captured this image of a giant hole (dark patch at top) in the sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona, on Sept. 11, 2018. Original ImageCredit: NASA/SDO

The northern lights just got a boost thanks to a big hole in the sun’s atmosphere, and there could be something of a repeat showing tonight.

Out of billions of stars in the Milky Way galaxy, there’s one in particular, orbiting 25,000 light-years from the galactic core, that affects Earth day by day, moment by moment. That star, of course, is the sun.While the sun’s activity cycle has been tracked for about two and a half centuries, the use of space-based telescopes offers a new and unique perspective of our nearest star.

Continue reading New Image Shows How the Sun Changes Over a 22-Year Cycle →

A huge solar storm is heading for Earth, and it’s likely to hit tomorrow.

The storm could knockout satellites, disrupt power supplies and spark stunning displays of the Northern Lights.

It was created last week by an enormous explosion in the sun’s atmosphere known as a solar flare, and charged particles from that flare are now on their way to our planet.

The arrival of the solar storm coincides with the formation of ‘equinox cracks’ in Earth’s magnetic field, which some scientists believe form around the equinoxes on March 20 and September 23 each year.

These cracks weaken our planet’s natural protection against charged particles and could leave commercial flights and GPS systems exposed to the incoming storm.
The cracks also mean stargazers are more likely to catch glimpses of the Northern lights this week.

Continue reading Massive solar storm that will slam Earth March 14, 2018 could knockout power supplies, damage satellites and trigger stunning auroras →

The Aurora Australis on June 25, 2017, as seen from the International Space Station. NASA

First, the bad news for stargazers: Auroras are going dark in many parts of the world.

The number of these atmospheric light shows won’t bottom out for several years, which means locations far from Earth’s poles — such as the UK and northern continental US — may rarely if ever see the Northern Lights during that time. A study published earlier this year hints this dearth of auroras may last for decades.

But there’s plenty of good news.

Continue reading The Northern Lights and other auroras are disappearing from some parts of Earth — but scientists predict a big comeback →

Using more than a half-century of observations, Japanese astronomers have discovered that the microwaves coming from the sun at the minimums of the past five solar cycles have been the same each time, despite large differences in the maximums of the cycles.

Continue reading Solar minimum surprisingly constant →