“In the universe, an absolute vacuum is rare, and most of the universe is very low-density high-temperature plasma,” said ...

The solar wind is created when the heat and pressure from below are more powerful than gravity, and the charged plasma in the corona is able to escape into space along the lines of the Sun’s ...

Solar scientists have found tiny, short-lived jets of energy on our sun to be the primary drivers of the solar wind, marking a step toward better understanding our sun's elusive behavior.

Supernovas push out matter and energy that heat and churn the interstellar medium. Over millions of years, these actions create differences in density, temperature, and composition. The interplay of ...

Normally, Earth's magnetic field shields us from most space weather and the solar wind. However, the Sun's surface activity waxes and wanes through an 11-year solar cycle (which will reach its ...

“These were two major mysteries leftover from the Voyager 2 flyby, both of which can be reasonably explained by the arrival of an intense solar wind event that compressed the magnetosphere ...

Active experiments in the ionosphere, magnetosphere and solar wind play a role in understanding fundamental plasma physics processes. Different types of active experiments are conducted including ...

The Solar Wind Plasma Sensor (SWiPS), integrated into NOAA’s SWFO-L1 satellite, enhances space weather monitoring by measuring solar wind ion properties. This innovative tool provides real-time ...

These facilities, called inductively coupled plasma (ICP) wind tunnels, use strong radiofrequency pulses to energize an isolated gas, so the plasma never comes into contact with any electrodes.

Our Sun drives a constant outward flow of plasma, or ionized gas, called the solar wind, which envelops our solar system. Outside of Earth’s protective magnetosphere, the fastest solar wind ...

Data from NASA’s Parker Solar Probe and the European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter suggest that plasma waves known as Alfvén waves inject energy into the solar wind as it leaves the sun’s ...