solarwind
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Watch Pluto's mesmerizing space weather
Ever wondered what the cosmic weather is like, especially around more distant worlds? NASA's happy to help. It recently published a simulation of the Solar System's weather (specifically the Sun's flares, winds and other behaviors) around the time New Horizons swung by Pluto. The color-coded imagery, which reflects the density, pressure and temperature of outgoing plasma, is more than a little hypnotic -- the plasma slowly spirals out, with coronal mass ejections creating shockwaves (the blue you see above) that travel to the farthest reaches of the system.
Revived NASA space probe might not go back to work after all
Remember the once-dormant ISEE-3 probe that was roused from its 27 year slumber earlier this week? Errm, turns out it's not doing so great. Despite a crowdfunding campaign that raised over $150,000 to bring it back to active duty and a recent successful spin using its aging thrusters, further attempts to move the craft have ended in disappointment.
NASA going to the Sun, Jay Leno readies 'hot' jokes for coming years
Our favorite aerospace exploration organization will finally fulfill a 1958 recommendation from the National Academy of Sciences by sending the Solar Probe Plus into the Sun's atmosphere. It will be the first time any craft visits a star -- previous data have been collected from at least millions of miles away. Why the personal visit? Two main reasons: to determine why the sun's corona is millions of kelvin hotter than its visible surface, and to learn more about how that solar wind we've been hearing so much about lately gets accelerated. Look out for answers to these and other burning questions (we're getting started early!) sometime before 2018.
IKAROS gets first burst of solar propulsion, wants more
Photons, man, it's all about the photons. Japan's solar sail-equipped IKAROS probe has recorded its first propulsion derived from the force of sunlight rays hitting its tender surface. The force generated is a truly minuscule 1.12 millinewtons, but that can go a long way (literally) in a frictionless environment like space. The kite's sails also soak up Sol's emitted light to generate electricity, making the most out of the one resource available to it. So now that we've figured out how to do all that, shall we get started on colonizing Mars or what?
