Installing solar panels on a roof.
Shutterstock/lalanta71
Solar cells make electricity directly from sunlight, but how do they do it?
This artist’s impression shows a view of the planet Proxima b orbiting the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the solar system.
ESO/M. Kornmesser
Beyond the outer edge of the Solar System, mysterious, unknown worlds await by the thousands. Astronomers can now finally find them and explore them - but will we find another Earth?
NASA Ames/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle
Kepler-452b is sometimes called ‘Earth 2.0’, but there’s a lot we still don’t know about it.
In Asia, umbrellas are commonly used as a form of sun protection.
AP Photo/Kin Cheung
In Asian countries, many people wield umbrellas to protect them from the sun. American women used to as well – but then stopped.
When it was young, the Sun spun fast – very fast. It would do one rotation in a just one or two Earth days.
www.pixabay.com
Yes, the Sun absolutely spins. In fact, everything in the universe spins. Some things spin faster than the Sun, some are slower and some things spin ‘backwards’.
It’s true the Sun often looks orange, but it isn’t really orange. It is white.
Flickr/Eyesplash
The very hottest stars actually glow blue.
Solar flares and other phenomena can have a surprising effect on our Earthly activities.
Shutterstock
The sun’s phenomena, like flares, can cause solar particles to enter the Earth’s atmosphere, with material effects.
Flickr/Tsvetan Bondzhov
Electricity happens when electrons move from one atom to another.
The moon covers much of the sun during the total solar eclipse, in Merlo, San Luis, Argentina, July 2 2019.
EPA-EFE/NICO AGUILERA
While the world gathers to see an eclipse, what’s the rest of nature doing?
The low solar corona as viewed in extreme ultraviolet light. Bright regions are where the most energetic solar storms are born. An eruption in action can be seen in the bottom-left.
NASA’s Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO) satellite.
Scientists spend years preparing for the two-minute window of a total solar eclipse.
A nuclear reaction is under way inside the Sun.
Emily Nunell/The Conversation CC-NY-BD
It’s true that here on Earth, if you want to burn something you need oxygen. But the Sun is different. It is not burning with the same kind of flame you would have on Earth if you burned a candle.
Very beautiful, and useful too.
Shutterstock.
An expert explains all the wonderful ways the atmosphere protects life on Earth.
Aphelleon/Shutterstock
Even if we can prevent a global warming apocalypse, our planet won’t be safe forever – the sun will one day expand. So should we try to move the Earth to a wider orbit?
University of Warwick/Mark Garlick
Exoplanet discovery can help us work out how the Earth will end its days.
Lagrange mission.
ESA/A. Baker
The Lagrange mission could greatly improve forecasts of space weather.
Venus feels the sun’s heat – but how?
NASA, SDO, AIA/Flickr.
There are three ways heat can be shared: conduction, convection and radiation. Find out which one lets heat travel through space.
Photo by Daoudi Aissa on Unsplash
Simply closing your eyes will protect your eyes from sunlight. But looking straight at it can cause serious damage.
Shutterstock.
The reason we have seasons is because, during its journey around the Sun, the Earth is tilted.
The Blackfeet always faced their tipis towards the rising sun, including on winter solstice.
Beinecke Library via Wikimedia Commons
For indigenous peoples, winter solstice has been a time to honor their ancient sun deity. Their rituals reveal a deep understanding of the natural world.
A comet-gazing opportunity to close out the year.
I MAKE PHOTO 17/Shutterstock.com
A bright comet visible in December provides an excellent viewing opportunity for night sky lovers – even potentially with the naked eye.