The new research has shed new light on the exotic but poorly understood 'fourth state of matter,' known as plasma, which could hold the key to developing safe, clean and efficient nuclear energy generators on Earth.
The sun is nearing a low-activity point of its solar cycle, but researchers at NASA are detecting large solar flares leaving the celestial body.
The leading edge of the first of two major coronal mass ejections will reach Earth at about 1:25 AM EST on the morning of March 8 (plus or minus 7 hours). Such a CME could result in a severe geomagnetic storm, causing aurora at low latitudes, with possible disruption to high frequency radio communication, global positioning systems (GPS), and power grids.
On August 9, 2011 at 3:48 a.m. EDT, the sun emitted an Earth-directed X6.9 flare, as measured by the NOAA GOES satellite. This was the largest flare of
A powerful solar flare has ushered in the largest space weather storm in at least four years and has already disrupted some ground communications on Earth.
