A new study reveals how and to what extent laser beams are bent during propagation through space plasma in TianQin, a geocentric space-borne gravitational wave detector.
plasmas
Posted inResearch Spotlights
What Makes Mars’s Magnetotail Flap?
Spacecraft reveal a key driver of up-and-down motions of thin, current-carrying plasma sheets on the nightside of Mars.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Magnetic “Switchback” Detected near Earth for First Time
Until recently, this type of zigzag shape—formed by energetic rearrangement of magnetic field lines—had been seen only near the Sun.
Posted inNews
This Star Stripped Off Its Layers Long Before Exploding
A star 2 billion light-years away apparently shed most of its outer layers before exploding, providing new insights into stellar structure—and new mysteries for astronomers to solve.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Why Subsequent ICMEs are More Geoeffective
A new study demonstrates how an interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME) clears the path for following transients and explains why subsequent ICMEs are more geoeffective.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Orbiter Pair Expands View of Martian Ionosphere
Radio signals sent between two Mars orbiters—rather than between an orbiter and an Earth-based receiver—capture new insights into atmospheric dynamics.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Nudging Earth’s Ionosphere Helps Us Learn More About It
New observations and simulations capture the physics at play across each of the three main ionospheric regions.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
New Insights into an Enigmatic Form of Magnetic Reconnection
A new study deepens understanding of magnetic field behavior recently discovered by NASA in Earth’s magnetosphere.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Prediction of Equatorial Plasma Bubbles for Navigation and Communication
Scientists demonstrate a new technique to predict the formation of equatorial plasma bubbles, a crucial space weather phenomenon affecting satellite-based communication and navigation systems.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Heating Mechanism at Earth’s Bow Shock Depends on Shock Speed
A new technique shows that the dominance of gradual versus chaotic electron heating processes at Earth’s bow shock is controlled by how fast the shock is moving.