Earlier this month, NASA probes in orbit and on the Martian surface detected an incredibly bright global aurora as a powerful solar storm struck Mars. The aurora was accompanied by a powerful dose of radiation that would have posed a significant danger to humans exploring the Red Planet.
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The Sun is currently in the quietest phase of its 11-year cycle, but it has blasted forth some of the largest solar flares on record. Several X-class flares have erupted over the past week, one of which is the largest in over a decade and one of the top 10 since records began.
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The results of a new X-ray study suggest that the high-energy activity of Sun-like stars rapidly drops off following a tumultuous youth. The findings could have significant implications for the habitability of exoplanets orbiting these stars, including their ability to maintain an atmosphere.
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An all-star cast of spacecraft has teamed up from across the Solar System. After a CME erupted from the Sun in October 2014, its journey through space was tracked by Curiosity, Rosetta, Cassini, New Horizons and possibly even Voyager 2, allowing astronomers to study the phenomenon in detail.
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Humans will probably be long gone by the time our Sun dies, but at least one lifeform will likely still be alive: the unkillable tardigrade. According to a study from Harvard and Oxford, it’ll take the death of the Sun to kill the species, which bodes well for the resilience of life as a whole.
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Although a lot of us may already slather on the vitamin E when we get sunburned, it looks like vitamin D might also help our skin to recover. In a recent study conducted by Case Western University, it was found that orally-administered vitamin D can actually promote healing.
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Since the 1980s, astronomers have been searching for the Sun’s “evil” twin, dubbed Nemesis. Lately, the hypothesis has fallen out of favor after sky surveys have turned up no trace, but a new mathematical model from UC Berkeley suggests that almost every star is born with a buddy, including our Sun.
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Way back in 2006, scientists discovered a compound that could induce skin tanning in mice without exposing them to cancer-causing UV light. Now, after 11 years and ongoing trial-and-error, those scientists have reworked their approach to trigger the same response in cultured human skin.
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For decades, scientists have longed to know more about the origin of solar winds. Advances in technology have now made it possible to get some answers, and NASA will next year launch its first probe toward our star in an effort to unlock some of its long-held secrets.
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In 2013, One Earth Designs debuted a rather clever cooker that could be used to grill using only the power of the sun. The team has now introduced a follow-up with a big focus on portability, with a much lighter and more compact version that can be packed into its own special carry bag.
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