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Scientists Envision a Massive Space Umbrella

Idea is to protect us from the sun's solar radiation

(Newser) - Sometimes, proposals to keep the Earth cool are too complicated for non-scientists to understand. And sometimes, they're like this one: "the equivalent of a giant beach umbrella, floating in outer space." That's from the New York Times in its coverage of a proposal being floated by...

Probe Survives Massive Solar Eruption, Proves a Theory

Parker Solar Probe observes a coronal mass ejection clear dust 'like a vacuum cleaner'

(Newser) - A solar probe has survived flying through a huge solar eruption, or what NASA is calling "one of the most powerful coronal mass ejections (CMEs) ever recorded." The Parker Solar Probe , which has flown closer to the sun's surface than any other spacecraft, encountered and filmed the...

Not Quite a Star, Not Quite a Planet, but Hotter Than the Sun

Scientists discover brown dwarf that's up to 90 times the size of Jupiter, nearly 14K degrees

(Newser) - Israeli researchers have stumbled on a celestial object that "is seriously confronting our notions of what's possible in the universe." That's per Science Alert , which reports on the discovery of a sweltering brown dwarf —an object that falls somewhere between planet and star, but which...

NASA Catches the Sun 'Smiling'
The Sun May Be
Laughing at Us

The Sun May Be Laughing at Us

Or at least 'smiling,' as NASA captions an odd satellite image

(Newser) - A NASA satellite has captured an odd image of the sun—it looks for all the world as if our famous star is "smiling," as the space agency puts it in a tweet . NASA explains that the dark patches making up the image are "known as coronal...

NASA Spacecraft Officially 'Touched' the Sun
'Humanity Has
Touched the Sun' 

'Humanity Has Touched the Sun'

Scientists confirm the Parker Solar Probe flew through the corona

(Newser) - A NASA spacecraft has officially "touched" the sun, plunging through the unexplored solar atmosphere known as the corona. The Parker Solar Probe actually flew through the corona in April during the spacecraft’s eighth close approach to the sun. Scientists said it took a few months to get the...

Sun Goes Down on 2020 in Northernmost US Town

Utqiagvik won't see another sunrise for 66 days

(Newser) - The sun has gone down on 2020 in America's northernmost town. In Utqiagvik, Alaska, formerly known as Barrow , the sun went down at 1:29pm Wednesday after being up for 34 minutes and it won't be seen again until Jan. 23, the Washington Post reports. But the town'...

These Are the Closest Images of the Sun Yet

'Campfires' might explain why the sun's outer atmosphere burns hotter than the surface

(Newser) - Fly dangerously close to the sun, and what do you see? "Campfires." That's what scientists have dubbed the small solar flares seen in new NASA photos —the closest ever taken of the sun's surface, the Guardian reports. "The campfires are little relatives of the...

Here Comes the Sun—10 Years of It, in One Hour

NASA releases hypnotizing film showing a decade of our resident star

(Newser) - You're not supposed to stare at the sun, but a new NASA film lets you safely do so for an entire hour. Per the Guardian , the space agency has released a decade's worth of "mesmerizing" footage of our resident star, taken from February 2010 all the way...

Solar Orbiter Begins Historic Mission

Spacecraft will provide first glimpses of sun's pole

(Newser) - Europe and NASA's Solar Orbiter rocketed into space Sunday night on an unprecedented mission to capture the first pictures of the sun's elusive poles. The $1.5 billion spacecraft will join NASA's Parker Solar Probe, launched 1.5 years ago, in coming perilously close to the sun...

Mercury Puts on Rare Show For Us Next Week
Mercury Making a Rare Trip.
Here's How to Watch
UPDATED

Mercury Making a Rare Trip. Here's How to Watch

It's currently making a transit across the sun

(Newser) - Mercury is in the middle of a rare trip across the sun, and almost everyone in the US should be able to catch at least a glimpse—with modest gear and safety protections. The official term is a "transit," and Mercury showed up as a small black dot...

NASA Shares Image of Halloween-ish Sun
Sun Gets in Halloween Spirit

Sun Gets in Halloween Spirit

NASA shares image of it looking like a jack-o-lantern

(Newser) - Three days until Halloween, and NASA is reminding everyone by sharing an image of the sun doing its best impression of a jack-o-lantern. The space agency shared the image, taken Oct. 8 by its Solar Dynamics Observatory satellite, on Sunday, reports Fox News . "Even our star celebrates the spooky...

A 'Proud Moment' for History-Making Space Probe

Parker Solar Probe just got closer to the sun than any other spacecraft ever has

(Newser) - NASA's Parker Solar Probe is now closer to the sun than any spacecraft has ever gotten. Parker on Monday surpassed the record of 26.6 million miles set by Helios 2 back in 1976, the AP reports—and it will keep getting closer to the sun until it flies...

NASA Heads Toward the Sun
NASA Heads
Toward the Sun 

NASA Heads Toward the Sun

Space agency launches Parker Solar Probe to get closer than ever to our star

(Newser) - A NASA spacecraft zoomed toward the sun Sunday on an unprecedented quest to get closer to our star than anything ever sent before. As soon as this fall, the Parker Solar Probe will fly straight through the wispy edges of the sun's corona that was visible during last August'...

NASA Offers Next Best Thing to Touching the Sun

Fly your name to our star instead

(Newser) - NASA will fly you to the sun—or at least your name. From now until April 27, NASA is accepting online submissions for this hottest ticket in town, which is free. The names—including that of pitchman William Shatner —will be included on a microchip to be sent on...

One-Two Punch From the Sun Knocks Out Radios

X9-level solar flare was preceded by weaker one on Wednesday

(Newser) - In what one space scientist says is "just part of living with a star," two solar events rocked the cosmos Wednesday, one of them strong enough to knock out radio communications for up to an hour. Scientific American reports on a pair of X-class solar flares (the most...

People Are Freaking Out About 2017 Solar Eclipse

It's predicted to be a once-in-a-lifetime event

(Newser) - It's still 10 months away, but sky gazers are already bursting with excitement—and booking vacations—over what is predicted to be "one of the most spectacular and widely accessible solar shows of our lifetime," per Mother Nature Network . On Aug. 21, 2017, the US will be...

9th Planet May Solve 'Mystery' of Our Solar System

It could explain why orbits are tilted 6 degrees

(Newser) - New research may have solved a "deep-rooted mystery" about our solar system and lent credence to the theory that there's a ninth planet chilling beyond Pluto. (Sorry, buddy.) Researchers at Caltech, including Konstantin Batygin and Mike "Pluto Killer" Brown (who first floated the "Planet Nine"...

The Sun Nearly Caused Nuclear War in 1967

Solar flares made it seem like the USSR was jamming US radars

(Newser) - The sun was nearly responsible for the Cold War going nuclear 50 years ago, according to a study released this week. On May 23, 1967, three US Ballistic Missile Early Warning System radar sites seemed to be jammed. CBS News reports it appeared to the US Air Force, which was...

A 'Mini Ice Age' Is Coming—and Soon
 A 'Mini Ice Age' Is 
 Coming—and Soon 
NEW STUDY

A 'Mini Ice Age' Is Coming—and Soon

Study predicts 60% fall in solar activity around 2030

(Newser) - In the words of the Starks , winter is coming—and it's going to be bad. Using a new model to forecast the sun's activity, scientists predict solar activity will fall by 60% in the 2030s to conditions not seen since a "mini ice age" in 1645. For...

Woman Sues eBay, Claims to Own the Sun

A Spanish court will hear her case

(Newser) - Next month, a Spanish court will hear arguments in a most unusual case: A woman who claims to own the sun has sued eBay for blocking her extraterrestrial real estate sales. Though it sounds a little nuts, a court in Madrid has ruled that 54-year-old Maria Angeles Duran has the...

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