The sun on May 3, 2012. The inset shows a close-up of the new kind of magnetic explosion, recently studied with the aid of NASA's SDO spacecraft. Image via SDO/ Abhishek Srivastava/ IIT(BHU).
NASA said this week that its Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) observed a kind of magnetic explosion on the sun that scientists had never seen before. The spacecraft spied the explosion when a prominence - a large loop of material launched by an eruption on the sun's surface - started falling back to the surface. Before it reached the surface, the prominence ran into a snarl of magnetic field lines, sparking the explosion. Watch a beautiful video.
December solstice 2019 arrives on December 22 at 04:19 UTC. That’s December 21 for much of North America. High summer for the Southern Hemisphere. For the Northern Hemisphere, the return of more sunlight! Read more. What does the solstice mean to you? Submit your personal solstice images to EarthSky Community Photos.
Mirfak isn't as famous as Algol, its brother star in the constellation Perseus. But Mirfak is easier to find and can help guide you to Algol. Read more.
