A sudden burst of activity from the Sun in early September 2017 caused a wide range of space weather effects at Earth.
the Sun
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.
Posted inScience Updates
Integrating Research of the Sun-Earth System
International Symposium on Recent Observations and Simulations of the Sun-Earth System III; 11–16 September 2016, Varna, Bulgaria
Posted inResearch Spotlights
For Magnetic Reconnection Energy, O—not X—Might Mark the Spot
A new analysis of satellite data could upend conventional wisdom about how solar storms produce their dangerous radiation—not from X-shaped mergers of magnetic field lines but from swirling vortices.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Explaining Unexpected Twists in the Sun's Magnetic Field
New research shows how the Sun's magnetic field can shift when it approaches Earth, which can throw off space weather forecasts.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Plasma Waves Pinpointed at the Site of Magnetic Reconnection
When the Earth's and the Sun's magnetic fields meet, they realign in explosive and mysterious reconnections. Data suggest that plasma waves called kinetic Alfvén waves play a key role.
Posted inNews
Scientists Get First Glimpse of Solar Wind as It Forms
Using computer-processed images from Sun-watching satellites, scientists observed solar wind emerging from the Sun's corona.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Spotting the Source of Slow Solar Wind
A new study suggests that magnetic reconnection may fuel slow solar winds, which top out at speeds below 500 kilometers per second.
Posted inEditors' Vox
First Results from NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission
Understanding magnetic reconnection is important in the context of Sun-Earth Connection, because of the resulting exchange of mass and energy, and the large amount of energy involved.