Monday Apr 27, 2009
Two space probes are to be sent to explore the Sun, in an attempt to get closer to the centre of the star than any previous mission.
The spacecraft will travel more than 70 million miles to one of the least hospitable regions of our solar system, where temperatures are hot enough to melt metal and intense radiation along with chaotic magnetic fields can tear manmade structures apart.
Scientists hope the missions will help them answer a long list of questions that still exist about the sun, including why its outer atmosphere is hotter than its surface, and what causes solar wind, sun spots and flares. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Kiran | Under Science, Technology and Gadgets
Friday Apr 24, 2009
A lack of sunspots and solar flares has made the Sun its dimmest for nearly a century, claim scientists.
The Sun normally undergoes an 11-year cycle of activity.
At its peak, it has a tumultuous boiling atmosphere that spits out flares and planet-sized chunks of super-hot gas. This is followed by a calmer period.
Last year, it was expected that it would have been hotting up after a quiet spell. But instead it hit a 50-year low in solar wind pressure, a 55-year low in radio emissions, and a 100-year low in sunspot activity. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Kiran | Under Nature, Science
Thursday Mar 26, 2009
The Sun will begin its death throes in about 5 billion years, when it starts to swell into a red giant star. Though it’s not clear exactly what its planetary nebula will look like – its shape will likely be sculpted by factors such as the Sun’s future magnetic field – observations of the 1600 or so known planetary nebulae suggest our star will go out in a blaze of glory.
Lasting no more than a few tens of thousands of years, planetary nebulae help seed space with heavier chemical elements that can be incorporated into the next generation of stars. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Kiran | Under Nature, Science
Saturday Aug 16, 2008
Eclipses of the sun and moon usually come in pairs. A solar eclipse is almost always accompanied by a lunar eclipse two weeks before or after it, since in two weeks the moon travels halfway around its orbit and is likely to form another almost-straight line with the Earth and sun.
This month will be no exception. Just over two weeks after casting its shadow across the Arctic, Russia, Mongolia and China, the moon will swing around to slide deep through the northern edge of the Earth’s own shadow on the night of Aug. 16-17. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Kiran | Under Nature, Science
