Browse Archive

  • Artist's rendition of RBSP in orbit.

    Van Allen Probes Reveal New Dynamics of Radiation Belts

    Just 96 days since launch, the Van Allen Probes have already provided new insights into the structure and behavior of the radiation belts that surround Earth.

  • Coronagraph image taken by SOHO shows an approaching comet.

    Sungrazing Comets as Solar Probes

    On Dec. 15, 2011, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured footage of Comet Lovejoy approaching the sun. The images and data collected by NASA's solar observing fleet can help scientists learn more about the sun itself.

  • Nov. 16, 2012 combined image showing the sun's innermost atmosphere as seen by the SDO, inside a larger CME SOHO image.

    SOHO: Crucial Space Weather Mission Hits 17 Years

    A joint ESA/NASA mission, SOHO has helped revolutionize our understanding of the sun's interior and complex atmosphere since it launched on Dec. 2, 1995.

  • This still image and set of animations show NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft exploring a new region in our solar system called the

    NASA Voyager 1 Encounters New Region in Deep Space

    NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft has entered a new region at the far reaches of our solar system that scientists feel is the final area the spacecraft has to cross before reaching interstellar space.

  • Fast, Affordable, Science and Technology SATellite (FASTSAT) Microsatellite

    First Minisatellite Mission Comes to Successful End

    After two successful years of on-orbit operations, NASA's Fast, Affordable, Science and Technology Satellite, or FASTSAT, mission is coming to an end.

  • Left, shows a calm sun from Oct. 2010. Right, from Oct. 2012, shows a much more active and varied solar atmosphere as the sun moves closer to peak solar activity, or solar maximum, predicted for 2013.

    Solar Minimum; Solar Maximum

    The sun goes through a natural solar cycle approximately every 11 years. The greatest number of sunspots in any given solar cycle is designated as 'solar maximum.' The lowest number is 'solar minimum.'

  • Camilla, the rubber chicken and SDO mascot, poses in front of the KSC's Vehicle Assembly Building.

    NASA's Cure for a Common Phobia

    NASA has found a cure for a common phobia--the fear of asking 'stupid' questions. The cure is a rubber chicken named Camilla.

  • The Nov. 13, 2012 solar eclipse as seen by Hinode - second pass, partial eclipse.

    Hinode Views Two Solar Eclipses

    The orbit of Hinode resulted in two eclipses on Nov. 13, 2012, near the time that a total eclipse was visible in Australia.

  • A total solar eclipse was visible from the Northern tip of Australia on Nov. 13, 2012 at 3:35 EST.

    Total Solar Eclipse Viewed from Australia

    On Nov. 13, 2012, a narrow corridor in the southern hemisphere experienced a total solar eclipse.

  • Projected path of the Nov. 13, 2012 total solar eclipse.

    Total Eclipse of the Sun

    On the morning of Nov. 14, 2012 (Australia time), about an hour after sunrise, the Moon will pass directly in front of the sun. Scientists and sky watchers are converging on the northeast coast of Australia, near the Great Barrier Reef, for a total eclipse of the sun.