Tag: Heliophysics

Studying the Sun

NeRD

5 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Science in Space: June 2024 The Sun wields a huge influence on Earth. Its gravity holds our planet in its orbit, and solar energy drives the seasons, ocean currents, weather, climate, radiation belts, and auroras on Earth. The solar wind, a flow of charged particles from the Sun, constantly bombards Earth’s magnetosphere, a vast magnetic shield around the planet. The Sun occasionally releases massive amounts of energy, creating solar geomagnetic storms that can interfere with communications and navigation and…

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NASA’s Heliophysics Experiment to Study Sun on European Mission

NeRD

The Joint EUV coronal Diagnostic Investigation (JEDI) will fly aboard the European Space Agency’s Vigil space weather mission and capture new views that will help researchers connect features on the Sun’s surface to those in the Sun’s outer atmosphere, the corona. Credits: NASA NASA announced Tuesday it selected a new instrument to study the Sun and how it creates massive solar eruptions. The agency’s Joint EUV coronal Diagnostic Investigation, or JEDI, will capture images of the Sun in extreme ultraviolet light, a type of light invisible to our eyes but…

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Aurorasaurus Roars During Historic Solar Storm

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2 min read Aurorasaurus Roars During Historic Solar Storm During the peak of activity (May 10-11, 2024) the Aurorasaurus website showed widespread reports and real-time alerts. The largest geomagnetic storm in 21 years lit up the sky last weekend, and NASA’s volunteers were ready. Between May 10th and 12th 2024, NASA’s Aurorasaurus project received an unprecedented number of reports from around the world. It also helped eager aurora chasers get a better view. “Aurorasaurus made all the difference for me,” said volunteer Damon Tighe. “I was able to see it in Oakland, CA and knew it was coming…

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2024 Total Solar Eclipse: Prediction vs. Reality

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2 min read 2024 Total Solar Eclipse: Prediction vs. Reality Image Before/After Before a total solar eclipse crossed North America on April 8, 2024, scientists at Predictive Science Inc. of San Diego aimed to foresee what the Sun’s outer atmosphere, the corona, would look like during totality. The predictions help researchers understand the accuracy of their models of the Sun’s corona, which extends along its magnetic field. A solar eclipse offers a rare opportunity to view the entire corona from Earth, guiding research into how its energy can cause solar…

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The April 8 Total Solar Eclipse: Through the Eyes of NASA

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5 Min Read The April 8 Total Solar Eclipse: Through the Eyes of NASA A total solar eclipse is seen in Dallas on April 8, 2024. A total solar eclipse swept across a narrow portion of the North American continent from Mexico’s Pacific coast to the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland, Canada. A partial solar eclipse was visible across the entire North American continent along with parts of Central America and Europe. Credits: NASA/Keegan Barber On April 8, 2024, the Moon’s shadow swept across North America, treating millions to a breathtaking…

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More Than 36,000 Volunteers Helped Do NASA Eclipse Science

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2 Min Read More Than 36,000 Volunteers Helped Do NASA Eclipse Science SunSketcher volunteers captured sequences of eclipse images, revealing the precise size and shape of the Sun and testing theories of gravity! Credits: Clinton Lewis from New Harmony, IN/Western Kentucky University Thank you for helping us out! Over 36,000 people helped do NASA Science during Monday’s total solar eclipse. Together, these volunteers submitted more than 60,000 vital pieces of eclipse data to NASA science projects. More than 30,000 volunteers with the SunSketcher project pointed their smartphones toward the Sun and recorded…

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Scientists Pursue the Total Solar Eclipse with NASA Jet Planes

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5 min read Scientists Pursue the Total Solar Eclipse with NASA Jet Planes The April 8, 2024, total solar eclipse will produce stunning views across North America. While anyone along the eclipse path with a clear sky will see the spectacular event, the best view might be 50,000 feet in the air, aboard NASA’s WB-57 jet planes. That’s where a trio of NASA-funded teams are sending their scientific instruments to take measurements of the eclipse. Two teams will image the Sun’s outer atmosphere – the corona – and a third…

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NASA Partnerships Bring 2024 Total Solar Eclipse to Everyone

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Solar eclipse NASA Eclipses are an important contribution to NASA’s research into the Sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona, and the part of Earth’s atmosphere where space weather happens. They’re also an inspirational opportunity for the public to get involved, learn, and connect with our place in the universe. Read More: 2024 Total Solar Eclipse On Monday, April 8, NASA and its partners will celebrate the wonders of the total solar eclipse as it passes over North America, with the path of totality in the United States, from Kerrville, Texas, to…

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New ‘Eclipse Watch’ Tool Shows Eclipses from Space Any Time

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4 min read New ‘Eclipse Watch’ Tool Shows Eclipses from Space Any Time Do you wish you could see a total solar eclipse every day? With a new online tool called Eclipse Watch, you can observe the Sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona, in real time with eclipse-like images from space as we count down to the next total solar eclipse on Earth. An eclipse-like image captured by the LASCO instrument on the SOHO spacecraft includes a picture of the Moon added for scale. To see the latest image, visit https://eclipse.helioviewer.org/.…

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NASA to Launch Sounding Rockets into Moon’s Shadow During Solar Eclipse

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5 min read NASA to Launch Sounding Rockets into Moon’s Shadow During Solar Eclipse NASA will launch three sounding rockets during the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, to study how Earth’s upper atmosphere is affected when sunlight momentarily dims over a portion of the planet. The Atmospheric Perturbations around Eclipse Path (APEP) sounding rockets will launch from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia to study the disturbances in the ionosphere created when the Moon eclipses the Sun. The sounding rockets had been previously launched and successfully recovered from…

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