The Parker Solar Probe will study the Sun’s corona and its electric and magnetic fields, as well as the mechanisms that drive the solar wind, all from behind an advanced protective heat shield.
the Sun
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Forecasting the Threat from the Sun
Ensemble techniques are opening a path toward space weather forecasts that give deeper understanding of the risk posed by each solar storm that approaches our planet.
Posted inNews
Edward L. Chupp (1927–2017)
This pioneer in high-energy solar physics devised instruments for observing solar and cosmic ray emissions with which he detected, for the first time, nuclear gamma rays from solar flares.
Posted inNews
Solar Flare Caused Increased Oxygen Loss from Mars’s Atmosphere
Measurements by a Mars-orbiting spacecraft indicated heating and chemistry changes in the planet’s atmosphere following an extreme solar eruption last year.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Preserving a 45-Year Record of Sunspots
Maps reveal how the Sun’s magnetic field evolves through solar cycles.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
A Better Way to Predict Space Storms
A new model of solar winds could reduce false alarms.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
A Survey of Solar Radio Burst Statistics
National solar radio archive records have substantial missing data potentially affecting the ability to benchmark extreme solar events.
Posted inEditors' Vox
A Wake-up Call from the Sun
A sudden burst of activity from the Sun in early September 2017 caused a wide range of space weather effects at Earth.
Posted inNews
Solar Probe Will Approach Sun Closer Than Any Prior Spacecraft
Technological improvements, including an advanced thermal protection system and innovative solar arrays, have helped to get this mission off the drawing board.
Posted inNews
Eclipse’s Last Major Stop Is Rich in Science and Amazement
Eclipse celebrations and scientific preparations abound in the final large U.S. population center to see Monday’s total eclipse.