Yeimy J. Rivera – The Conversation

The Sun can send out eruptions of energetic particles. NASA/SDO via AP

September 9, 2026

Space weather can cause both beautiful auroras and infrastructure challenges – 5 essential reads on protecting life and technology

Mary Magnuson, The Conversation

A massive solar flare could seriously disrupt life on Earth – but new NASA missions and others in development will help monitor the Sun.

The Sun’s surface is dynamic, affected by convection in its interior. NASA/Solar Dynamics Observatory

May 20, 2026

Solar activity follows an 11‑year cycle – here’s how it controls eruptions and solar flares

Yeimy J. Rivera, Smithsonian Institution

The Sun is a complex physical body. It generates incredible amounts of heat and a strong, often tangled, magnetic field.

The Sun occasionally ejects large amounts of energy and particles that can smash into Earth. NASA/GSFC/SDO via WikimediaCommons

October 6, 2025

What are solar storms and the solar wind? 3 astrophysicists explain how particles coming from the Sun interact with Earth

Yeimy J. Rivera, Smithsonian Institution; Rosa Tatiana Niembro Hernández, Smithsonian Institution, and Samuel Badman, Smithsonian Institution

Space weather isn’t referring to rain clouds that float through the galaxy. Instead, it’s caused by massive explosions of particles that shoot out from the Sun.

Ilustração mostra a Parker Solar Probe se aproximando do Sol: medições da sonda da Nasa e outra da Agência Espacial Europeia (ESA) permitiram aos cientistas identificar de onde pode estar vindo a energia que acelera e aquece o vento solar depois que ele sai do Sol. Steve Gribben/Johns Hopkins APL/NASA via AP

September 4, 2024

Duas sondas estão ajudando cientistas a entender melhor o fenômeno que impulsiona o vento solar

Yeimy J. Rivera, Smithsonian Institution; Michael L. Stevens, Smithsonian Institution, and Samuel Badman, Smithsonian Institution

Há anos os cientistas se perguntam qual é a fonte de energia que permite que o vento solar - uma emissão de partículas carregadas do Sol - passe pela Terra a centenas de quilômetros por segundo

This artist’s rendition shows NASA’s Parker Solar Probe approaching the Sun. Steve Gribben/Johns Hopkins APL/NASA via AP

August 29, 2024

2 solar probes are helping researchers understand what phenomenon powers the solar wind

Yeimy J. Rivera, Smithsonian Institution; Michael L. Stevens, Smithsonian Institution, and Samuel Badman, Smithsonian Institution

For years, researchers have wondered what energy source allows the solar wind − a projection of charged particles from the Sun − to rush by at hundreds of miles a second.

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