Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news about fascinating discoveries, scientific breakthroughs and more. When the sun unleashed an extreme solar storm and slammed into Mars in May, it engulfed the red planet in auroras and a stream of charged particles and radiation, according to NASA. The Sun has… Read More »
Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news about fascinating discoveries, scientific breakthroughs and more. When the sun unleashed an extreme solar storm and slammed into Mars in May, it engulfed the red planet in auroras and a stream of charged particles and radiation, according to NASA. The Sun has… Read More »
The same massive sunspot responsible for triggering a historic geomagnetic storm on Earth in mid-May triggered a legendary storm for Mars a few days later. On May 20, data from Europe’s Solar Orbiter spacecraft showed that the predicted X12 solar flare was the strongest type. on the glare classification scale – AR3664 exploded from a… Read More »
The solar storms that produced the stunning auroras seen around the world on May 10 also gave Mars whiplash, sparking auroras over the Red Planet and doused the surface with harmful radiation. The main source of solar storms was an active region. AR3664It was a dense knot of magnetic flux on the sun, inhabited by… Read More »
Scientists believe Earth may have briefly lost its protection from the sun about two million years ago, left to endure the extreme environment of interstellar space, as the solar system passed through a dense cloud of gas and dust between stars. At that time, early human ancestors shared our planet with prehistoric animals such as… Read More »
The most powerful solar storm in almost 20 years is expected to hit Earth on Friday night and the Northern Lights are likely to be visible from across the UK. Bursts of charged particles, resulting from a series of powerful explosions from the Sun’s surface, are traveling directly towards Earth at about 900 km per… Read More »
While examining a nearby supernova with NASA’s Fermi gamma-ray space telescope, scientists uncovered a larger mystery in an effort to discover how these stellar explosions fire charged particles called cosmic rays. The team found that the supernova, called SN 2023ixf, was completely devoid of gamma-ray emissions, which should be present when cosmic ray particles are… Read More »
Getty Images Allegation: Dangerous cosmic rays will pass near the Earth tonight and harm those who leave their personal devices turned on nearby. Evaluation: Rating: False As the total solar eclipse of April 8, 2024 approached, Snopes’ inbox began filling up with a familiar claim that “tonight” cosmic rays would pass near the Earth, endangering… Read More »
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will begin investigating the spectacular light shows of solar system giants Uranus and Saturn. Two separate teams of astronomers at the University of Leicester will use the $10 billion space telescope to study auroras on gas giant Saturn and cold ice giant Uranus. The aim will be to explain… Read More »
On Monday, March 4, scientists announced that they had managed to measure how much molecular oxygen (the type of oxygen we breathe on Earth) is likely present around Jupiter’s moon Europa. Although researchers have made estimates of the icy moon’s oxygen content in the past, the team says this is the first time this has… Read More »