Solar phenomena

The Sun's activity cycle is reaching its peak early: knowing why could help us unlock the secrets of our star

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, October 26, 2023
Flare, McIntosh, GPS, Time, Technology, SpaceX, Method, Field line, Research, Starlink, Solar phenomena, Optical phenomena, NCAR, Radiation, Spacecraft, Season, Volcanic explosivity index, Heat, Atmospheric Research, NASA, Communications satellite, Lithium, Renewable energy, Management

Reliable like a clock, its apparent passage across the sky allows us to measure time.

Key Points: 
  • Reliable like a clock, its apparent passage across the sky allows us to measure time.
  • The Sun and its path is also the source of Earth’s seasons.
  • But in many respects, our Sun is far from calm and unchanging.
  • Activity from the Sun that affects our planet is often referred to as “space weather”.

Timing matters

  • Nasa and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have been creating these for many years.
  • This approach has yielded a date for the next solar maximum (the peak) of around July 2025.
  • This peak was also forecast to be relatively weak, like the maximum during the previous solar cycle.
  • What’s interesting is that many prediction methods rely on timing the length of a cycle measured by the minimum (lowest point) of solar activity.

In the line of fire

  • As the Sun releases vast amounts of energy as flares and other events that eject material into space, there is a chance that some will hit Earth if we are in the line of fire.
  • It also forces solar particles to move in a way dictated by Earth’s magnetic fields.
  • These occur when solar particles reach the high atmosphere and “excite” atoms there, causing them to move to a high energy state.
  • As the atoms relax, they emit light in different colours – for example as reds, greens and blues.
  • Solar activity can cause power surges in the long transmission lines used in electrical grids.
  • When solar activity grows stronger, it’s more likely that a solar storm could strike us, causing electrical problems on satellites.
  • We are also expanding our technology into space – technology which is vulnerable if we don’t monitor space weather and its source, the Sun.
  • Electrical grids are being designed to be less prone to power surges and satellites are being designed to better ride out space weather.
  • Experts already keep a detailed log of past observations and are constantly extending their ways of observing the Sun and space weather using satellites.


Daniel Brown does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

New Research Suggests that Jets and Coronal Mass Ejections May be the Beginning and End of a Solar Eruption Continuum

Retrieved on: 
Monday, June 7, 2021
Solar phenomena, Plasma physics, Space science, Space plasmas, Applied sciences, Astronomy, Sun, Light sources, Coronal mass ejection, Stellar corona, Solar prominence, Solar flare

Solar eruptions are commonly categorized as jets or coronal mass ejections, also known as CMEs.

Key Points: 
  • Solar eruptions are commonly categorized as jets or coronal mass ejections, also known as CMEs.
  • The research, presented at the virtual American Astronomical Society meeting in June 2021, shows that these two eruption types may simply be two ends of an eruption continuum.
  • Often, the seeds of a solar eruption are sown days or weeks in advance, when two oppositely-charged magnetic fields begin moving away from each other.
  • Because this stretching leaves the field lines largely horizontal, they often fill with cool plasma, and become known as solar prominences.

Blue Canyon Technologies to Provide CubeSats for VISORS Space Program to Study the Sun

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, May 12, 2021
University, Aerospace, Education, Technology, Manufacturing, Air, Transport, Other Technology, Satellite, Other Manufacturing, Engineering, Software, Operating systems, Nanoflares, Solar phenomena, Sun, Twitter, Corona, Biz, Computing

\xe2\x80\x9cOur company\'s technology will enable the VISORS program to help scientists understand the sun\xe2\x80\x99s plasma physics and refine models for nanoflares and corona composition.

Key Points: 
  • \xe2\x80\x9cOur company\'s technology will enable the VISORS program to help scientists understand the sun\xe2\x80\x99s plasma physics and refine models for nanoflares and corona composition.
  • "\nUnder the contract awarded by the University of Illinois, BCT will also be providing an Engineering Development Unit that will allow the program\'s instrument team to test hardware well in advance of the VISORS launch.
  • The company has been recognized with awards from Inc. Magazine\xe2\x80\x99s 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies, the 2020 Best in Biz Award and the 2020 Tibbetts Award.\nFor the latest news on Blue Canyon Technologies and for other company information, please visit www.bluecanyontech.com .
  • You can follow the company on Instagram here or Twitter here .\nView source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210512005306/en/\n'

Waldrop Leads $75 Million NASA Mission to Investigate Earth's Atmosphere

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, January 28, 2021
Space science, Planets, Applied sciences, Planetary science, Exosphere, Atmosphere, Solar phenomena, Plasma physics

"The exosphere is a critical component of Earth's protection against solar storms," said Waldrop.

Key Points: 
  • "The exosphere is a critical component of Earth's protection against solar storms," said Waldrop.
  • "GLIDE is the first mission designed explicitly to investigate this key atmospheric region, and it will reveal the nature and origins of the exosphere's global structure and temporal variability for the first time."
  • GLIDE will image ultraviolet emission from Earth's vast outer atmosphere and thereby reveal its response to solar drivers and atmospheric evolution.
  • In 2019, the GLIDE mission was one of two finalists chosen to develop a detailed concept study report that described the proposed scientific investigation, mission concept, and plans for implementation.

Global Helium Abundance Measurements in Solar Corona

Retrieved on: 
Friday, September 18, 2020
Physical sciences, Space plasmas, Plasma physics, Natural sciences, Astrophysics, Light sources, Solar phenomena, Diving equipment, Helium, Sun, Stellar corona, Heliosphere

Naval Research Laboratory Space Science Division (SSD) researchers joined an international cadre of scientists July 27 in presenting the results of the first simultaneous global solar corona images of the helium and hydrogen emission that is helping scientists to better understand the space environment.

Key Points: 
  • Naval Research Laboratory Space Science Division (SSD) researchers joined an international cadre of scientists July 27 in presenting the results of the first simultaneous global solar corona images of the helium and hydrogen emission that is helping scientists to better understand the space environment.
  • The paper, "Global Helium Abundance Measurements in the Solar Corona," was published online in Nature Astronomy and discusses the abundance of helium relative to hydrogen in the solar corona, the outer atmosphere of the sun, seen from earth only during eclipses.
  • NRL Astrophysicist Dennis Wang, Ph.D., software lead for the HElium Resonance Scattering in the Corona and HEliosphere (HERSCHEL) rocket flight, was responsible for flight and ground software.
  • His NRL colleague, Research Physicist Martin Laming, Ph.D., managed the new model of element abundance fractionation, to include helium.

Solar Cycle 25 Is Here. NASA, NOAA Scientists Explain What That Means

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, September 15, 2020
Solar phenomena, Space science, Astronomy, Physical sciences, Solar cycle, Coronal mass ejection, Sunspot, Solar minimum, Solar flare, Space weather, Space Weather Prediction Center, Stellar corona

The Solar Cycle 25 Prediction Panel, an international group of experts co-sponsored by NASA and NOAA, announced that solar minimum occurred in December 2019 , marking the start of a new solar cycle.

Key Points: 
  • The Solar Cycle 25 Prediction Panel, an international group of experts co-sponsored by NASA and NOAA, announced that solar minimum occurred in December 2019 , marking the start of a new solar cycle.
  • Scientists use sunspots to track solar cycle progress ; the dark blotches on the Sun are associated with solar activity, often as the origins for giant explosions such as solar flares or coronal mass ejections which can spew light, energy, and solar material into space.
  • Doug Biesecker, panel co-chair and solar physicist at NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center( SWPC ) in Boulder, Colorado, said Solar Cycle 25 is anticipated to be as strong as the last solar cycle, which was a below-average cycle, but not without risk.
  • "Just because it's a below-average solar cycle, doesn't mean there is no risk of extreme space weather," Biesecker said.

NASA, NOAA to Discuss Solar Cycle Prediction During Media Teleconference

Retrieved on: 
Friday, September 11, 2020
Solar phenomena, Science, Solar cycle, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Space Weather Prediction Center, SOLAR, Articles

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will discuss predictions for the upcoming solar cycle during a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Sept. 15.

Key Points: 
  • WASHINGTON, Sept. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will discuss predictions for the upcoming solar cycle during a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Sept. 15.
  • Tracking the solar cycle is a key part of better understanding the Sun and mitigating its impacts on human technology and infrastructure.
  • During the teleconference, experts on the Solar Cycle 25 Prediction Panel will discuss recent updates in solar cycle progress, and the forecast for the upcoming cycle, Solar Cycle 25.
  • The teleconference audio will stream live at:
    Participants in the call will be:
    Doug Biesecker, solar physicist at NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center and co-chair, Solar Cycle 25 Prediction Panel
    Elsayed Talaat, director of the Office of Projects, Planning, and Analysis for NOAA Satellites
    To participate in the media teleconference, media must provide their name and affiliation to Lina Tran at [email protected] by noon Tuesday, Sept. 15.

TrueLight® Launches Red Science-Backed Sleep Light

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, July 7, 2020
Solar phenomena, Sunset, Phenomena, Nature

SEATTLE, July 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, TrueLight, a wellness technology brand at the forefront of developing Human Compatible products for healthier living, launched the TrueLight Luna Red Sunset Sleep Light Bulb .

Key Points: 
  • SEATTLE, July 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, TrueLight, a wellness technology brand at the forefront of developing Human Compatible products for healthier living, launched the TrueLight Luna Red Sunset Sleep Light Bulb .
  • Studies show that red wavelengths of light are most conducive for better sleep.
  • "The TrueLight Luna Red Sunset Sleep light bulb is uniquely inspired by the patent-pending sunset gradient lenses used in select TrueDark Twilights blue light blocking eyewear .
  • The TrueLight Luna Red Sunset Sleep light bulb is ideal for nighttime living spaces, hallways, nurseries, bathrooms, and especially bedrooms.

NASA Awards NOAA's Space Weather Follow On-Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) Solar Wind Plasma Sensor (SWiPS)

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, July 1, 2020
Space science, Astronomy, Outer space, Solar phenomena, Space plasmas, Plasma physics, Sun, Wind, LAGRANGE, Goddard Space Flight Center, Coronal mass ejection, Space weather

GREENBELT, Md., July 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- On behalf of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NASA has awarded the Space Weather Follow On-Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) Solar Wind Plasma Sensor (SWiPS) contract to South West Research Institute (SwRI) in San Antonio, Texas.

Key Points: 
  • GREENBELT, Md., July 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- On behalf of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NASA has awarded the Space Weather Follow On-Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) Solar Wind Plasma Sensor (SWiPS) contract to South West Research Institute (SwRI) in San Antonio, Texas.
  • The principal purpose of this requirement within the Space Weather Follow On (SWFO) Project is to design, analyze, develop, fabricate, integrate, test, calibrate, evaluate, and support launch and on-orbit check-out of the Solar Wind Plasma Sensor (SWiPS) instrument as part of the SWFO-L1 Observatory.
  • SWFO-L1 will provide NOAA with the continuity of solar wind data and coronal mass ejection imagery, the National Weather Service's highest priority for space weather observations.
  • NASA is the program's flight system procurement agent, and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, is the lead for this acquisition.

NRL telescope onboard ESA, NASA SOHO discovers 4000th comet

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, June 25, 2020
Astronomy, Space science, Contents, Lasco, Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, Solar phenomena, Plasma physics, Space plasmas, Coronagraph, Comet, United States Naval Research Laboratory, Corona

Naval Research Laboratory's Large Angle Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO) instrument identified the 4000th comet discovered by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), a joint mission between the European Space Agency and NASA on June 15.

Key Points: 
  • Naval Research Laboratory's Large Angle Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO) instrument identified the 4000th comet discovered by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), a joint mission between the European Space Agency and NASA on June 15.
  • LASCO, which is aboard SOHO, was developed in 1995 to see the extremely faint emission from the region around the Sun called the corona.
  • "In less than 25 years SOHO has added this huge volume to the archives of our comet knowledge, and it comes from a telescope not designed to see comets," said Karl Battams, NRL computational scientist.
  • The 4000th comet is a testament to the invaluable input from so many volunteers all around the world over the past two decades."