The Sun - Science@NASA
The Sun's gravity holds the solar system together, keeping everything – from the biggest planets to the smallest particles of debris – in its orbit. The connection and interactions between the Sun and Earth drive the seasons, ocean currents, weather, climate, radiation belts and auroras.
Sun: Exploration - NASA Science
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is studying our star from closer than any previous spacecraft. On Dec. 14, 2021, NASA announced that Parker had flown through the Sun’s upper atmosphere – the corona – the first time in history that a spacecraft had touched the Sun.
Solar System Exploration Stories - NASA Science
On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse swept across North America, from the western shores of Mexico, through the United States, and into northeastern Canada. For the eclipse, NASA helped fund numerous research projects and called upon citizen scientists…
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Makes History With Closest Pass to Sun
4 days ago · Breaking its previous record by flying just 3.8 million miles above the surface of the Sun, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe hurtled through the solar atmosphere at a blazing 430,000 miles per hour — faster than any human-made object has ever moved.
How NASA Tracked the Most Intense Solar Storm in Decades
From May 3 through May 9, 2024, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory observed 82 notable solar flares. The flares came mainly from two active regions on the Sun called AR 13663 and AR 13664. This video highlights all flares classified at M5 or higher with nine categorized as X-class solar flares. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Our Sun: Facts - Science@NASA
The core is the hottest part of the Sun. Nuclear reactions here – where hydrogen is fused to form helium – power the Sun’s heat and light. Temperatures top 27 million °F (15 million °C) and it’s about 86,000 miles (138,000 kilometers) thick.
The Heliophysics Big Year - Science@NASA
The Heliophysics Big Year is a global celebration of the Sun’s influence on Earth and the entire solar system. From Oct. 14, 2023, to Dec. 24, 2024, we are challenging you to participate in as many Sun-related activities as you can!
Sun Stories - NASA Science
Operations teams have confirmed NASA’s mission to “touch” the Sun survived its record-breaking closest approach to the solar surface on Dec. 24, 2024. Breaking its previous record by flying just 3.8 million miles above the surface of the Sun, NASA’s…
NASA, NOAA: Sun Reaches Maximum Phase in 11-Year Solar Cycle
Oct 15, 2024 · In a teleconference with reporters on Tuesday, representatives from NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the international Solar Cycle Prediction Panel announced that the Sun has reached its solar maximum period, which could continue for the next year.
DRAFT - Space Weather - NASA Science
Dec 4, 2024 · ESA’s Vigil space weather mission will study the Sun from the Sun-Earth Lagrange Point 5 to give researchers and forecasters a critical vantage point of the Sun and it’s eruptions. NASA is contributing the Joint EUV coronal Diagnostic Investigation (JEDI) instrument to this mission in order to study the creation of the solar wind and solar ...