Scientists hope to illuminate universe's dark side
Everything scientists now know about the cosmos, from the Big Bang to black holes, has come from measurements of light rays. Full story
Balloons Flying Over Antarctica May Help Solve Radiation Mystery
The planet is surrounded by two gigantic, fluctuating donut-shaped zones made of protons and electrons known as the Van Allen radiation belts. The charged particles in these zones can damage sensitive electronics on spacecraft such as those used for global positioning systems (GPS) and communication Full story
Sun erupts with mightiest solar flare in 4 years
The sun unleashed its strongest solar flare in four years Monday night, hurling a massive wave of charged particles from electrified gas into space and toward Earth. Full story
One mystery of sandstorm lightning explained
Sandstorms can generate spectacular lightning displays, but how they do so is a mystery. Full story
Springtime in space
See an active sun, a blooming "cosmic rose" and other cosmic highlights from March 2010.
Mystery emissions found at solar system edge
In the murky boundary between our solar system and the rest of the galaxy, scientists have spotted a bright band of surprising high-energy emissions. Full story
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The aurora borealis, or northern lights, are seen on the sky above the village of Ersfjordbotn near Tromso in northern Norway
The aurora borealis, or northern lights, are seen on the sky above the village of Ersfjordbotn near Tromso in northern Norway on Feb. 21. Aurorae are caused by the interaction between energetic charged particles from the sun and gas molecules in the upper atmosphere of the Earth, about 100 kilometre
THE northern lights
epa02594671 The aurora borealis or the northern lights are seen on the sky above the village of Ersfjordbotn near Tromso in northern Norway, early 21 February 2011. Aurorae are caused by the interaction between energetic charged particles from the Sun and gas molecules in the upper atmosphere of t
Venus, like Earth and Mars, is immersed in a flow of charged gas from the sun. Since Venus (and Mars) doesn't have a magnetic field, gases in the upper atmosphere become charged and interact with the solar wind. Scientists think the solar wind gives the charged particles enough energy to escape and
Venus, like Earth and Mars, is immersed in a flow of charged gas from the sun. Since Venus doesn't have a magnetic field, gases in the upper atmosphere become charged and interact with the solar wind. Scientists think the solar wind gives the charged particles enough energy to escape and that's why
