Latest news with #Spaceweather
National Geographic
11-07-2025
- Science
- National Geographic
What does a solar tornado look like? One photographer got these incredible shots
From a dark sky site in Portugal's Alqueva Dark Sky Reserve, Portuguese astrophotographer Miguel Claro captured stellar views of the sun's chromosphere—the orange-red layer of the sun's atmosphere—over the last few years. The sun produces energy in its core through a process called nuclear fusion. That energy travels outward to the sun's atmosphere, producing an extremely complex and dynamic environment with a variety of special phenomena, including solar tornadoes and solar prominences. 'Photographing the sun is as demanding as it is incredible,' Claro says. When he looks at the sun through his equipment, he sees 'that the sun is always featuring something new—something that wasn't there the day before.' Below is a slew of fascinating features captured from our host star. A time-lapse of this solar prominence reveals a tornado of plasmic activity. This time-lapse, taken April 24, 2025, showcases a twister on the sun. A solar tornado is created when magnetic fields swirl a tornado-like filament of boiling plasma in the sun's atmosphere. According to NASA's space-based Solar Dynamics Observatory, they can rotate at speeds up to 186,000 miles per hour. (For comparison, tornadoes on Earth only reach speeds of 300 miles per hour.) Scientists estimate there are as many as 11,000 solar tornadoes above the sun's surface at any given moment. A solar flare is documented on April 30, 2022, from the Dark Sky Alqueva region in Portugal. According to Spaceweather, 'the explosion still produced enough radiation for a strong shortwave radio blackout over the mid-Atlantic Ocean and Europe.' The solar chromosphere is seen on May 10, 2024, showing the most severe geomagnetic storm of the past 20 years, which created aurora borealis phenomena across the Northern hemisphere. A large solar prominence captured on April 24, 2025. A plasma eruption, caused by the sun's churning plasma tangling its magnetic field, is captured on June 15, 2025. Claro notes the phenomenon "resembles braids of hair." The activity from this solar storm created aurora borealis across the Northern Hemisphere, seen as far south as Texas and Arizona. On May 10, 2024, one of the most severe solar storms in over two decades hit Earth. Solar storms happen when sudden, strong bursts of charged particles from the sun hit Earth's atmosphere. They can trigger a beautiful light show in the form of auroras and can also wreak havoc on earthly technologies like power grids and our fleet of space-based satellites.
The Sun
02-07-2025
- Science
- The Sun
Two ‘never seen' stars explode into sky without warning in ‘historical extremely rare event' – & easy trick to spot them
TWO new stars have suddenly appeared in the night sky, caused by some of the most powerful explosions in the universe. Two distant stellar explosions have burned so bright that we can now see them from Earth with the naked eye. 4 4 It is the first time in recorded history that more than one of these luminous outbursts has been visible to humans at the same time, according to scientists. The first nova, dubbed V462 Lupi, was first spotted 12 June in the Lupus constellation. The distant star that existed before the dramatic transformation was 3 million times dimmer than it is now. Then on 25 June, astronomers detected another nova, dubbed V572 Velorum, within the Vela constellation, according to A classic nova – a space explosion that is shorter-lived than a supernova – typically appears in the night sky once a year at most. More than one of these events simultaneously are almost unheard of. "This is without question an extremely rare event, if not an historical one," astronomer and author Stephen O'Meara, told "I have yet to find an occurrence of two simultaneous nova appearing at the same time." The last time we came close to simultaneous novas visible to the naked eye was in 1936 - but both V630 Sgr and V368 Aql were still weeks apart. O'Meara, who has been trawling historical records for similar events, added: "They were not at maximum brightness at the same time." I'm space travel agent 'Mr Intergalatic' who brokers trips for rich - but holidays to the stars will soon be for all What am I looking for? V572 Velorum shines with brilliant blue-white light, while V462 Lupi has a purple hue, according to Live Science. Eventually, the stars will turn red before disappearing, as the longer blue-colored wavelengths of light fade first. V462 Lupi's brightness peaked on 20 June, at a magnitude of +5.5 - which is how the brightness of stars is measured. That would make it dimmer than Polaris and Sirius, the brightest stars in the sky. Since then, the star has weakened slightly but remains above the +6 magnitude threshold, which means it is detectable by the naked eye. V572 Velorum is brighter, peaking at +4.8 on 27 June. Both the Lupus and Vela constellations are in the southern sky - which means they are below the horizon in the UK but visible in some parts of North America, including Mexico, California and Texas. 4 4
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
2 'new stars' have exploded into the night sky in recent weeks — and both are visible to the naked eye
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A second "new star" has unexpectedly appeared in the night sky, less than two weeks after a near-identical point of light first burst into view without warning. These never-before-seen "stars" are made of light coming from rare stellar explosions known as classical novas. Scientists believe this may be the first time in recorded history that more than one of these luminous outbursts have been visible with the naked eye at the same time. The first nova, dubbed V462 Lupi, was initially spotted June 12 shining in the Lupus constellation, after its progenitor star suddenly became more than 3 million times brighter than normal. Then, on June 25, multiple astronomers detected another nova, dubbed V572 Velorum, within the Vela constellation, according to Astronomers normally expect to see a classical nova once a year at most, and more than one of these explosions shining simultaneously is almost unheard of. "This is without question an extremely rare event, if not an historical one," Stephen O'Meara, an astronomer and author who has been scouring historical records for similar examples, told "I have yet to find an occurrence of two simultaneous nova appearing at the same time." The last time we came close to simultaneous novas visible to the naked eye was in 1936, when V630 Sgr and V368 Aql were spotted within a few weeks of one another, O'Meara added. However, "they were not at maximum brightness at the same time." Related: Nearly 900 years ago, astronomers spotted a strange, bright light in the sky. We finally know what caused it. V462 Lupi's brightness peaked on June 20, when it reached an apparent magnitude of +5.5. The star has since dimmed slightly but remains above the +6 magnitude threshold for naked eye visibility. V572 Velorum is even brighter, peaking at +4.8 on June 27. (A smaller magnitude signifies a brighter object; for example, the moon has an apparent magnitude of -12.7.) Astrophotographer Eliot Herman snapped the novas using a remotely operated camera in Chile (see above). V572 Velorum, which was photographed on June 27, shines with brilliant blue-white light, while V462 Lupi has a purple hue in an image captured on June 26. Novas gradually turn red before disappearing because the longer blue-colored wavelengths of light fade from view first. Both the Lupus and Vela constellations are in the southern sky, making the new novas easier to spot from the Southern Hemisphere. However, V462 Lupi can be seen from North America, just after sunset and close to the southern horizon. Vela can sometimes be seen from the southern parts of North America, including Mexico, California and Texas, meaning some people in these regions could spot V572 Velorum for themselves. But it is much less likely. The objects are technically bright enough to be seen with the naked eye. However, they will be easier to spot if you have a decent telescope or a pair of stargazing binoculars, especially if you are viewing them from the Northern Hemisphere. Unlike supernovas, which are so powerful that they completely rip stars apart, a nova only affects the outer layers of a star. Classical novas, such as V462 Lupi and V572 Velorum, occur in a specific type of binary system, where a more massive white dwarf star is pulling material away from its larger partner. When enough material has been accreted onto the dwarf star's surface, the pressure builds up and triggers an explosion that burns up most of the stolen gas and shoots pulses of bright light into space, which can sometimes be seen from Earth. RELATED STORIES —Supernova that lit up Earth's skies 843 years ago has a flowering 'zombie star' at its heart — and it's still exploding —Mystery explosion 1,000 years ago may be a rare, third type of supernova —Rare quadruple supernova on our 'cosmic doorstep' will shine brighter than the moon when it blows up in 23 billion years Some novas are recurring events, blowing their top at regular intervals: For example, the long-awaited T Coronae Borealis nova, also known as the "Blaze Star," lights up our skies roughly every 80 years. However, astronomers have been predicting that the Blaze Star will reappear imminently for the last 15 months, and it is yet to emerge, which shows that it is not an exact science. As this is the first recorded appearance of V462 Lupi and V572 Velorum, it's not known if or when they will explode again in the future. Both of them will likely fade from view in the coming weeks.
Yahoo
20-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
A 'new star' has exploded into the night sky — and you can see it from North America
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A "new star" is shining in the constellation Lupus thanks to an unexpected stellar explosion within the Milky Way — and it can currently be seen with the naked eye from parts of North America. On June 12, astronomers from the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae at Ohio State University first spotted the new point of light, which had an apparent magnitude of +8.7 at the time, still too dim to be seen by the naked eye, Sky & Telescope originally reported. (A smaller magnitude signifies a brighter object; for example, the moon has an apparent magnitude of -12.7). Over the next few days, the rapidly brightening object took on several temporary names — including AT 2025nlr, ASASSN-25cm, and N Lup 2025 — as researchers scrambled to determine its identity. Astronomer Yusuke Tampo, from the South African Astronomical Observatory at the University of Cape Town, then analyzed the light coming from the object and determined that it is likely a classical nova — a massive stellar explosion that temporarily shines bright in the night sky. On June 16, it was given the official designation V462 Lupi. By June 18, V462 Lupi had brightened to an apparent magnitude of +5.7, which makes it just visible to the naked eye. This also makes it around 4 million times brighter than its extremely dim progenitor star was before June 12, according to Related: Nearly 900 years ago, astronomers spotted a strange, bright light in the sky. We finally know what caused it. There is a chance that the nova will continue to brighten in the coming days, making it even easier to spot. The Lupus constellation is located in the southern sky, meaning that V462 Lupi is most easily visible from the Southern Hemisphere. However, it can also be seen from North America, close to the southern horizon, just after sunset. Amateur astronomers from the U.S. have reported seeing it in places such as Arizona and California, and as far north as Lake Superior, according to Sky & Telescope. You may be able to spot it without any additional equipment. However, it would be easier to spot if you had a decent telescope or a pair of stargazing binoculars, especially if you are viewing it from the U.S. or if the explosion starts to dim over the coming days. Unlike supernovas, which are so powerful that they completely rip stars apart, a nova only affects the outer layer of a star. Classical novas, such as V462 Lupi, occur in a specific type of binary system, where a more massive white dwarf star is pulling material away from its larger partner. When enough material has been accreted onto the dwarf star's surface, the pressure builds up and triggers an explosion that burns up most of the stolen gas and shoots pulses of bright light toward Earth. Naked-eye classical novas are rare. They appear "no more than once a year," representatives wrote, "and most are so close to the limit of naked-eye sensitivity that they can be invisible despite being technically [visible]." RELATED STORIES —Supernova that lit up Earth's skies 843 years ago has a flowering 'zombie star' at its heart — and it's still exploding —Mystery explosion 1,000 years ago may be a rare, third type of supernova —Rare quadruple supernova on our 'cosmic doorstep' will shine brighter than the moon when it blows up in 23 billion years Some novas are also recurring events, blowing their top at regular intervals: For example, the long-awaited T Coronae Borealis nova, also known as the "Blaze Star," lights up our skies roughly every 80 years. However, astronomers have been predicting that the Blaze Star will reappear imminently for the last 15 months, and it is yet to emerge, which shows that it is not an exact science. As this is the first recorded appearance of V462 Lupi, we have no idea if or when it will explode again in the future.
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Powerful solar flare erupts from sun triggering radio blackouts across North America (video)
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. An Earth-facing sunspot has turned into a prolific flare factory, firing off multiple powerful M-class solar flares in less than 24 hours, along with several minor C-class eruptions. The most intense of these solar flares erupted on June 15, peaking at 2:25 p.m. EDT (1825 GMT) and registering as an M8.46-class — just shy of the X-class category, the most powerful type of solar flare. This eruption also unleashed a coronal mass ejection (CME) — a massive plume of solar plasma and magnetic field — now partially headed toward Earth. Forecasts suggest the CME's flank could strike on June 18, according to If the CME does reach Earth, space weather forecasters say we could see minor (G1-class) geomagnetic storm conditions, potentially sparking northern lights as far south as northern Michigan and Maine. Solar flares are caused when magnetic energy builds up in the sun's atmosphere and is released in an intense burst of electromagnetic radiation. They are categorized by size into lettered groups according to strength: X-class: The strongest M-class: 10 times weaker than X C, B and A-class: Progressively weaker, with A-class flares typically having no noticeable effect on Earth. Within each class, a numerical value indicates the flare's relative strength. The June 15 flare came in at M8.46, making it a near X-class event. Because flare radiation travels at light speed, it hits Earth in just over eight minutes. When it arrives, it ionizes the upper atmosphere (specifically the thermosphere), which can disrupt shortwave radio communication on the sunlit side of the planet. During the M8.46 event, North America was directly facing the sun, making it the prime target for the resulting shortwave radio blackouts. The sunspot region behind this activity isn't slowing down. It unleashed another M6.4 flare early on June 16 at 5:30 a.m. EDT (0930 GMT) and remains in an Earth-facing position. More solar flares — and possibly more CMEs — could erupt in the coming days. If they do, we may be treated to more northern lights displays as our planet remains in the strike zone of this highly active region. Keep up to date with the latest aurora forecasts with our aurora forecast live blog and for the latest geomagnetic activity breakdown, check out NOAA's 3-day forecast.
