artist's illustration of sun with glint

Solar System

Caught in a Solar Storm on the Way to Mars

A chance alignment between Earth and a Mars-bound spacecraft has given us a rare glimpse at the motions of high-energy particles from the Sun.

Solar System

Astronomers Map the Solar System's Edge in 3D

Collecting high-speed atoms has enabled researchers to trace the shape of our Sun’s protective bubble.

Solar System

Scientists Recreate Space Weather of 400 Years Ago

Scientists are studying 400-year-old data to predict space weather in the coming decades — and it seems that future may hold fewer Northern Lights.

Space weather

Astronomy Questions & Answers

What is the solar wind?

The Sun’s outer atmosphere, the corona, is the source of the solar wind, a steady outflow of charged particles from the Sun.