In the News
- 07.30.15 – Nearing 3000 Comets: SOHO Solar Observatory Greatest Comet Hunter of All Time
- In 1995, a new solar observatory was launched. A joint project of ESA and NASA, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory – SOHO – has been sending home images of our dynamic sun ever since.
- 07.09.15 – Scientists Study Atmosphere of Venus through Transit Images
- Two of NASA's heliophysics missions can now claim planetary science on their list of scientific findings. A group of scientists used the Venus transit - a very rare event where a planet passes between Earth and the sun, appearing to us as a dark dot steadily making its way across the sun's bright face - to make measurements of how the Venusian atmosphere absorbs different kinds of light.
- 06.25.15 – SDO Sees Mid-level Solar Flare
- The sun emitted a mid-level solar flare, peaking at 4:16 a.m. EDT on June 25, 2015. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the sun constantly, captured an image of the event.
- 06.22.15 – Sun Unleashes Mid-level Flare
- The sun emitted a mid-level solar flare, peaking at 2:23 p.m. EDT on June 22, 2015. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the sun constantly, captured an image of the event.
- 05.22.15 – Coronal Loops Over a Sunspot Group
- The Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) instrument aboard NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) images the solar atmosphere in multiple wavelengths to link changes in the surface to interior changes.
- 05.19.15 – Using a Sounding Rocket to Help Calibrate NASA's SDO
- The flight of a two-stage Terrier-Black Brant (Black Brant IX) suborbital sounding rocket was terminated May 21 by safety officials at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico about four seconds into the second stage burn after data showed the vehicle was flying off-course.
- 05.12.15 – DHS/NASA Space Weather Twitter Chat
- When solar storms release solar flares and coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, toward Earth, we can feel the effects here on the ground.
- 05.06.15 – NASA's SDO Observes ‘Cinco de Mayo’ Solar Flare
- The sun emitted a significant solar flare, peaking at 6:11 p.m. EDT on May 5, 2015. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the sun constantly, captured an image of the event.
- 04.28.15 – Strong Evidence For Coronal Heating Theory Presented at 2015 TESS Meeting
- The sun's surface is blisteringly hot at 10,340 degrees Fahrenheit — but its atmosphere is another 300 times hotter.
- 04.28.15 – EUNIS' View of the Sun
- NASA's EUNIS sounding rocket examined light from the sun in the area shown by the white line (imposed over an image of the sun from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory) then separated the light into various wavelengths (as shown in the lined images – spectra – on the right and left) to identify the temperature of material observed on the sun.
- 04.21.15 – SDO Shows Active Regions Across Front of Sun
- This solar image taken April 20, 2015, by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, shows a complicated pattern of bright regions and soaring loops stretching across the front of the sun.
- 04.09.15 – NASA Study Finds Small Solar Eruptions Can Have Profound Effects On Unprotected Planets
- While no one yet knows what's needed to build a habitable planet, it's clear that the interplay between the sun and Earth is crucial for making our planet livable – a balance between a sun that provides energy and a planet that can protect itself from the harshest solar emissions.
- 04.08.15 – NASA Gives Green Light for Johns Hopkins APL to Begin Building Solar Probe Plus Spacecraft
- NASA's Solar Probe Plus mission — which will fly closer to the sun than any spacecraft has before — reached a major milestone last month when it successfully completed its Critical Design Review, or CDR.
- 04.08.15 – Seasonal, Year-Long Cycles Seen on the Sun
- Our sun is constantly changing. It goes through cycles of activity – swinging between times of relative calm and times when frequent explosions on its surface can fling light, particles and energy out into space.
- 03.24.15 – NASA Funded Mission Studies the Sun in Soft X-Rays
- At any given moment, our sun emits a range of light waves far more expansive than what our eyes alone can see: from visible light to extreme ultraviolet to soft and hard X-rays.
- 03.17.15 – NASA's SDO Sees Two Coronal Holes
- NASA's SDO captured an image on March 16, which shows two dark patches, known as coronal holes — one of the largest polar holes seen in decades.
- 03.11.15 – Sun Emits Significant Solar Flare
- The sun release an X-class solar flare, an X2.2, peaking at 12:22 p.m. EDT on March 11, 2015. NASA's SDO, which watches the sun constantly, captured an image of the event.
- 03.10.15 – SDO Captures Images Of Mid-Level Solar Flares
- Solar active region AR2297 is rife with mid-level flares. Two more mid-level flares, an M5.8-class and an M5.1-class, have been observed.
- 02.11.15 – New Videos Highlight NASA SDO's Fifth Anniversary
- In honor of SDO's fifth anniversary, on Feb. 11, 2015, NASA has released two videos showcasing highlights from the last five years of sun watching.
- 02.10.15 – NASA's SDO Sees Giant Filament on the Sun
- A dark line snaked across the lower half of the sun, on Feb.10, 2015, as seen by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory.
- 01.22.15 – SOHO and Hinode Offer New Insight Into Solar Eruptions
- A journal paper in Nature magazine on Oct. 23, 2014, used data from NASA missions to describe what triggers a Coronal Mass Ejection.
- 01.13.15 – First Notable Solar Flare of 2015
- The sun emitted a mid-level solar flare, peaking at 11:24 p.m. EST on Jan. 12, 2015.
