A massive solar flare could seriously disrupt life on Earth – but new NASA missions and others in development will help monitor the Sun.
Articles on Parker Solar Probe
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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.
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.
NASA has been gaining momentum in recent years as investment into space has ramped up in the US. In 2022, missions dealt with the farthest, closest, hottest and coldest conditions in the universe.
The fastest things ever made by humans are spacecraft, and the fastest spacecraft reached 330,000 mph – only 0.05% the speed of light. But there are ways to go faster.
The Parker Solar Probe makes it closest-ever approach to the sun.
Top contributors
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Researcher in Astrophysics, Smithsonian Institution
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Researcher in Astrophysics, Smithsonian Institution
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Astrophysicist, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Smithsonian Institution
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University Distinguished Professor of Astronomy, University of Arizona
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Associate Professor of Environmental History, Georgetown University
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Research Scientist, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado Boulder
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Assistant Research Scientist in Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, University of Michigan
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Senior Research Fellow of Space Plasma Physics, UCL
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Researcher in Astrophysics, Smithsonian Institution
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Associate Professor of Space Systems, West Virginia University