When the solar winds emanating from our Sun meet interstellar space, they collide with material from beyond and limit the amount of harmful particles that come back the other way. NASA has ticked off a new mission to probe this protective bubble known as the heliosphere.
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While there already are materials that change color in response to UV exposure, those color-changes involve reorganization of the material's molecular structure, so it can only be used a few times. A new material known as SensoGlow, however, can be used to detect and measure UVs over and over.
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Our Sun is too small to explode in a supernova, but new findings suggest that our nearby star is in for a dramatic demise, creating a vast ring of gas and dust called a planetary nebula. Though that was always a leading theory, there’s some small consolation for those that thought differently…
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An international team of astronomers has released survey data detailing the chemical fingerprints of over 340,000 stars. The observations could be used to identify stellar bodies that formed alongside our Sun billions of years ago.
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Managing our exposure to the sun can be a delicate balancing act. QSun is a clever tracker that removes the guesswork by using artificial intelligence to keep tabs on sun exposure, even giving you a buzz when it's time to head for the shade.
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New research suggests the Sun might be headed towards a “grand minimum” of a centuries-long cycle, during which the Earth would receive much less ultraviolet radiation. If so, it may even help slow – but not stop – the progression of the climate’s general warming trend.
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ESA is looking to develop a spacecraft that could for the first time provide us with a "side-view" of the Sun, improving our ability to predict potentially damaging space weather events such as coronal mass ejections (CMEs).
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An international team of astronomers has successfully imaged the surface of the geriatric star π1 Gruis, revealing enormous convection cells that cycle material between the interior and surface of the star – essentially acting as a massive stellar lava lamp.
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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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