Small, sudden bursts of heat and energy, called nanoflares, are responsible for the million-degree temperature of the sun's tenuous atmosphere, a new study reveals. picked by AutumnLotus 3 months ago

Magnetic waves ripple through the Sun's outer atmosphere with enough energy to heat the region to its astonishing temperature of millions of degrees, new views from the Hinode spacecraft suggest. If correct, the waves could solve a decades-long puzzle about the source of this heat. Includes video. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

A new study reveals solar flares cause seismic waves to ripple across the sun's surface. The findings will help scientists study other stars. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Scientists analysing data gathered by the Cassini spacecraft have confirmed the presence of heavy negative ions in the upper regions of Titan’s atmosphere. These particles may act as organic building blocks for even more complicated molecules and their discovery was completely unexpected because of the chemical composition of the atmosphere (which lacks oxygen and mainly consists of nitrogen... read full post picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

NASA has selected a Mars robotic mission that will provide information about the Red Planet's atmosphere, climate history and potential habitability in greater detail than ever before.

I posted this because it has MAVEN. picked by AutumnLotus 1 year ago

Powerful magnetic waves have been confirmed for the first time as major players in the process that makes the sun's atmosphere strangely hundreds of times hotter than its already superhot surface. The magnetic waves — called Alfven waves — can carry enough energy from the sun's active surface to heat its atmosphere, or corona. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Jupiter's volcanic moon Io is veiled by a thin atmosphere, but how much its volcanoes and chunks of frozen gas contribute to its atmosphere has puzzled scientists for decades. The New Horizons spacecraft recently documented the moon's glowing aurora, however, giving researchers a chance to solve the atmospheric mystery. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

The Global Positioning System, relied on for everything from navigating cars and airplanes to transferring money between banks, may be threatened by powerful solar flares, a panel of scientists warned. picked by suebe 3 years ago

Oxygen is constantly leaking out of Earth’s atmosphere and into space. Now, ESA’s formation-flying quartet of satellites, Cluster, has discovered the physical mechanism that is driving the escape. It turns out that the Earth’s own magnetic field is accelerating the oxygen away. picked by AutumnLotus 1 year ago

Geologists have uncovered evidence of when Earth may have first supported an oxygen-rich atmosphere similar to the one we breathe today. The study suggests that upheavals in the earth’s crust initiated a kind of reverse-greenhouse effect 500 million years ago that cooled the world’s oceans, spawned giant plankton blooms, and sent a burst of oxygen into the atmosphere. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Two decades of scrutinizing Saturn are finally paying off, as scientists have discovered a wave pattern, or oscillation, in Saturn's atmosphere only visible from Earth every 15 years. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Scientists have solved a 40-year-old puzzle by identifying the origin of the intense radio waves in the Earth's upper atmosphere that control the dynamics of the Van Allen radiation belts — belts consisting of high-energy electrons that can damage satellites and spacecraft and pose a risk to astronauts performing activities outside their spacecraft. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Watching the stars set from the surface of the Earth may be a romantic pastime but when a spacecraft does it from orbit, it can reveal hidden details about a planet’s atmosphere. It works by watching stars from space, while they drop behind the atmosphere of a planet under investigation, before disappearing from view below the planet’s horizon. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

A space storm has been observed exploding from a central point in Earth's upper atmosphere for the first time. The result could one day lead to better predictions of the storms, which can harm satellites and power grids on the ground. picked by AutumnLotus 6 months ago

Observations of solar flares by spacecraft at Mars, Venus and the Earth show that eruptions on the far side of the Sun may affect our "space weather" back on Earth. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

The name of the mission is Solar Probe+. It's designed to plunge deep into the sun's atmosphere sampling solar wind and magnetism. Launch could happen as early as 2015. Planners believe it will solve two great mysteries of astrophysics and make many new discoveries along the way. picked by 2manyusernames 1 year ago

Sails to catch the Solar Wind has been a science-fiction staple for many years. The photons streaming from the sun do have a bit of pressure. It is tiny, but it adds up and in the vacuum of space it is sufficient to propel a vehicle. What's more the energy is free and unlimited. picked by 2manyusernames 1 year ago

Astronomers have recorded heavenly music bellowed out by the Sun’s atmosphere. picked by AutumnLotus 3 years ago

'Sigmoids' are S-shaped structures found in the outer atmosphere of the Sun (the corona), seen with X-ray telescopes and thought to be a crucial part of explosive events like solar flares. Now a group of astronomers have developed the first model to reproduce and explain the nature of the different stages of a sigmoid’s life. picked by AutumnLotus 7 months ago

Images of a tsunami blasting its way through the sun's lower atmosphere have been taken for the first time.

NASA's twin STEREO spacecraft captured one of the massive solar waves in action May 19, 2007, as it moved through four layers of the solar atmosphere. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago