Topic: NASA’s Living with a Star Program

NASA’s Van Allen Probes find third Radiation Belt around the Earth

March 2, 2013 |

Written by Dr. Tony Phillips
Science at NASA

Washington, D.C. – Earth’s radiation belts were one of the first discoveries of the Space Age. A new finding published in today’s issue of Science shows that we still have much to learn about them. NASA’s twin Van Allen Probes, launched just last August, have revealed a previously unknown third radiation belt around Earth.

“Even 55 years after their discovery, Earth’s radiation belts still are capable of surprising us,” said Nicky Fox, Van Allen Probes deputy project scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics  Laboratory in Laurel, MD. “We thought we knew the radiation belts, but we don’t.”

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National Research Council report shows more ways the Sun effects Earth’s Climate

January 10, 2013 |

Written by Dr. Tony Phillips
Science at NASA

Washington, D.C. – In the galactic scheme of things, the Sun is a remarkably constant star. While some stars exhibit dramatic pulsations, wildly yo-yoing in size and brightness, and sometimes even exploding, the luminosity of our own sun varies a measly 0.1% over the course of the 11-year solar cycle.

There is, however, a dawning realization among researchers that even these apparently tiny variations can have a significant effect on terrestrial climate. A new report issued by the National Research Council (NRC), “The Effects of Solar Variability on Earth’s Climate,” lays out some of the surprisingly complex ways that solar activity can make itself felt on our planet.

These six extreme UV images of the sun, taken by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, track the rising level of solar activity as the sun ascends toward the peak of the latest 11-year sunspot cycle.

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NASA releases Why the World Didn’t End Yesterday

December 15, 2012 |

NASA is so sure the world won’t come to an end on December 21st, 2012, they have already released this news item for the day after.

Written by Dr. Tony Phillips
Science at NASA

Washington, D.C. – If you’re reading this story, it means one thing:  The World Didn’t End Yesterday.

According to media reports of an ancient Maya prophecy, the world was supposed to be destroyed on December 21st, 2012.

Apparently not.

“The whole thing was a misconception from the very beginning,” says Dr. John Carlson, director of the Center for Archaeoastronomy. “The Maya calendar did not end on December 21st, 2012, and there were no Maya prophecies foretelling the end of the world on that date.”

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