Astronomy, features and articles | Educational Science

Jan 3, 2024

Total solar eclipse April 2024: The 10 biggest cities within the path of totality

It may occur only from within a path 115 miles (185 kilometers) wide and 10,000 miles (16,000 km) long, but the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, will be one of the most urban eclipses for decades. The total eclipse of the sun next April 8 will envelop many...

Jan 9, 2024

'Monumental achievement for all humanity': NASA's Parker Solar Probe is gearing up for a record-breaking encounter with the sun

NASA's Parker Solar Probe has already gotten closer to the sun than any other human-made object. Yet, later this year, the star-skimming spacecraft will get even closer — all while traveling faster than its previous top speed. The solar observatory — which, on Dec. 28, 2023, completed its 18th close...

Jan 17, 2024

These eclipse-themed places will experience totality on April 8, 2024

Will you be in Shadowland, Texas, to see the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024? How about watching the lunar disk cross the solar disk from Moon Beach, New York, or glimpsing the sun's halo from Corona, Missouri? You could visit thousands of locations to experience totality in Mexico,...

Jan 22, 2024

Giant geomagnetic storm set to slam into Earth Monday, fueling auroras across northern US

The sun has launched a blob of plasma toward Earth that could trigger a geomagnetic storm in the planet's magnetic field, officials say. This could bring stunning aurora displays to parts of the United States, primarily northern and upper Midwest states today (Jan. 22 and Tuesday (Jan. 23), according to...

Jan 23, 2024

Near-simultaneous solar flares explode from opposite sides of the sun in extremely rare event

A pair of powerful solar flares recently exploded almost simultaneously from two different sunspots located on opposite hemispheres of our star. The extremely rare phenomenon, known as a sympathetic solar flare, is another reminder that we are fast approaching the explosive peak in the sun's 11-year cycle, known as the...

Jan 30, 2024

Photographer snaps extremely rare 'aurora curls' after magnetic wave rings Earth's atmosphere 'like a bell'

A single streak of eerily-perfect, rippling green light recently wobbled through the night sky above Iceland, interrupting an otherwise typical aurora, stunning new photos show. The extremely rare phenomenon is the result of large waves vibrating in Earth's magnetic field that are triggered by solar particles slamming into our planet....

Jan 31, 2024

What's the longest solar eclipse in history? (And how does the April 2024 total eclipse compare?)

On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will be visible in parts of Mexico, the U.S. and Canada, and all of North America will see at least a partial solar eclipse. The maximum length of totality — when the sun's face is completely blocked by the moon — will...

Feb 2, 2024

Photos: Ghostly plasma loops linger on the sun after massive solar explosion

A series of gigantic yet eerily faint plasma loops temporarily rose above our home star's surface after a powerful solar flare exploded from the sun on Monday, stunning new photos show. These loops linger like ghostly echoes of the departed solar storm, but scientists still don't know exactly how the...

Feb 3, 2024

April 8 solar eclipse: 4 telescopes and observatories where you can watch totality

The April 8 total solar eclipse will be the biggest astronomical event of the year. You don't need to be an astronomy enthusiast to appreciate the spectacular sky show — but, a handful of observatories on the path of the eclipse could help make your experience even more exciting. At...

Feb 5, 2024

April 8 total solar eclipse: The best places to stargaze near the path of totality

Eclipse chasing and stargazing are made for each other. A total solar eclipse — which will be visible in parts of North America on April 8 — can happen only during a new moon, when our natural satellite moves between Earth and the sun. Besides causing an eclipse, this arrangement...

Feb 6, 2024

April 8 solar eclipse: What is the path of totality, and where's the best spot to watch?

On April 8, a total solar eclipse will be visible from parts of North America for the first time since 2017 and for the last time until 2033. To experience totality — darkness in the daytime and the chance to look at the sun's fiery outer atmosphere, or corona, with...

Feb 9, 2024

Colossal 'Martian sunspot' is so big it was seen from Mars. Now it's facing Earth.

A sunspot so large it was seen from the surface of Mars is now facing Earth. The gargantuan sunspot group AR3576 from end to end stretches for more than 124,274 miles (200,000 kilometers) and contains at least four dark cores each larger than Earth, according to Spaceweather.com. It was imaged...

Feb 13, 2024

April 8 solar eclipse: What will happen during totality?

People throughout the entire continent of North America will see a partial solar eclipse on Monday, April 8, but only those within a 115-mile-wide (185 kilometers) path will experience a total solar eclipse. Although viewers in the path will also see the partial phases, the centerpiece of the experience is...

Feb 18, 2024

April 8 total solar eclipse: Why this eclipse repeats itself every 54 years

When the moon's central shadow races at more than 1,500 mph (2,400 km/h) across North America on April 8 to cause a total solar eclipse, the resulting spectacle will be both unique and part of a progressing cycle. This path of totality (the path of the moon's dark shadow across...

Feb 21, 2024

'A wonderful spectacle': Photographer snaps rare solar eruption as 'magnetic noose' strangles the sun's south pole

A gigantic plume of plasma recently exploded from the sun's south pole, where solar eruptions almost never occur. The explosion, which a photographer captured in stunning detail, is another telltale sign that the sun is about to enter its most active phase — the solar maximum. The rare phenomenon occurred...