Solar Exterior / Archive

Locations on the Sun's disk where new spots were seen to emerge: on the right in these plots, the West of the Sun, many new spots are missing as they are invisible.

Invisible spots on the Sun
from Solar Exterior

Sunspots appear dark because of their low temperature compared to the surrounding regions. The Sun is constantly producing new spots, and their identification and tracking is essential for predicting ‘Space Weather.’ But a team of UK scientists have discovered a surprising proble...

Article Posted: 12-03-2008


The corona of an active region adjacent to a coronal hole, seen by Hinode (credit: NAOJ/JAXA/NASA/STFC/ESA)

The Sun's hot secrets
from Solar Exterior

With the invention of the telescope at the beginning of the seventeenth century, Galileo discovered Saturn’s rings, sunspots on the sun, and craters on the moon. Today, advances in technology are still crucial to the discovery process. Advanced telescopes onboard the Japanese sat...

Article Posted: 03-01-2008


Researchers at the University of St Andrews have developed a more detailed computer model of the Sun's magnetic field than previously possible.

Modelling the Sun's explosive corona
from Solar Exterior

The sun's atmosphere is a violent, chaotic place, threaded with ropes of twisted magnetic field that build up stress and cause vast explosions more powerful than any man-made bomb. Direct measurements of the magnetic field are impossible, so scientists resort to complex computer ...

Article Posted: 20-11-2007


Go on your very own Sun|trek at this exciting educational website

Suntrek goes live!
from Solar Exterior

A new website aimed at enthusing and educating 10-14 year old students (KS3/4) and their teachers about the Sun at its effect on the Earth has just gone live. Sun|trek has been produced by a team of UK solar researchers and teachers.

Article Posted: 08-07-2007


STEREO observed its first coronal mass ejection (CME) on December 9 2006. The white circle shows the location of the solar disk and the mass ejection can be seen on the right hand side of the image as outward directed streak ending in a faint ring.

The Sun in 3D
from Solar Exterior

The STEREO (Solar Terrestrial RElations Observatory) mission is an ambitious attempt to make three-dimensional observations of the Sun. To do this, two near-identical NASA spacecraft have recently been launched into orbits that carry them away from the Earth in opposite direction...

Article Posted: 30-06-2007


Magnetic loops in the solar corona (credit: NASA)

The Sun's 'wrong way around' heat
from Solar Exterior

If you touch a glowing-hot lump of coal, you’ll surely burn your fingers. If, more cautiously, you bring your hand to within a few centimetres but no closer, you’ll feel the heat but you won’t get burned. The warm air surrounding the coal is not as hot as the coal itself.

Article Posted: 15-02-2007


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