#solar-eclipse

#solar-eclipse

The proposed scale of orbital deployment would represent a significant alteration of the natural night-time light environment at a planetary scale.

Spain will hold the unique distinction of being the only country worldwide where the final phase of a total eclipse can be observed. Occurring in the summer months, these eclipses also benefit from a higher likelihood of clear skies, ensuring optimal viewing conditions.

A total solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes directly between the Sun and Earth, perfectly aligning to completely obscure the Sun, casting a dark shadow across the Earth. The event may be around five months away, but many are already planning their trips and accommodation is booking up fast.

Discovered in December 2024, asteroid 2024 YR4 was briefly considered the most dangerous asteroid in decades after scientists initially estimated it had a 3.1% chance of colliding with the Earth in 2032. Closer observations quickly ruled out a city killer scenario, but instead astronomers calculated there was a 4.3% chance that the moon lay in the path of impact.

Light is one aspect of the Universe that, for most people, holds a deep and noticeable value in everyday life, helping them to navigate, learn from, and connect with the world around them. Yet it's not particularly difficult to imagine life without it. After all, many nonhuman animals live in lightless environments. However, as Gideon Koekoek, an associate professor of physics in the research group Gravitational Waves and Fundamental Physics

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth lines up between the moon and the sun. The sun's light is blocked casting a shadow on to the moon. But in some eclipses sunlight does reach the moon indirectly, daubing the moon in a sunset palette. Any light that does pass shines through our atmosphere and transforms the lunar surface into a deep, coppery red.

Welcome to February's solar eclipse, a supercharged new Moon in Aquarius that brings a moment of reset, a blank slate upon which you can write an entirely new reality. Solar eclipses always arrive as cosmic amplifiers and carry the powerful energy of new beginnings and quantum leaps in consciousness. But this upcoming eclipse on the new Moon is especially significant.

Except for penguins and Antarctic scientists, few will be able to enjoy February's annular solar eclipse. That's because this eclipse will see the moon pass between the Earth and sun across the path of the southern continent, reaching a maximum at around 12:12pm UTC. People living in Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mozambique, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and the southern parts of Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, Tanzania and Zambia, will only see a partial eclipse March 3.

The sun is putting on a show. On Sunday the star unleashed several strong and bright solar flares, including one of the most powerful eruptions seen in decades. Far from the steadily glowing orb we sometimes picture, the sun's surface is made up of roiling plasma thrown about by twisting magnetic fields. When these fields snap, they can throw out huge bursts of energy and charged particles into spacea solar flare.

The sun's rhythmic rise and fall in the sky can make it easy to forget that our star is unpredictablea roiling, burbling mass of magnetically knotted plasma that governs the entire solar system. But a new video from the European Space Agency's (ESA's) Proba-3 mission that shows a string of fountainlike explosions on the sun offers a powerful reminder of our home star's active nature.

A bright star in a nearby galaxy has essentially vanished. Astronomers believe that it died and collapsed in on itself, transforming into the eerie cosmic phenomenon known as a black hole. "It used to be one of the brightest stars in the Andromeda galaxy," says Kishalay De, an astronomer with Columbia University and the Flatiron Institute. "Today, it is nowhere to be seen, even with the most sensitive telescopes."

There is a profound, quiet magic in standing alone under a truly dark sky, but the experience becomes something else entirely when shared with a community of fellow explorers. Star parties are the heartbeat of this experience: communal, high-energy gatherings where everyone from veteran astronomers to total beginners can share a wide-angle view of the cosmos. It's a chance to level up your astrophotography skills, learn the latest in deep-space science from experts,

Earlier this week, the Sun unleashed a powerful X-class solar flare, a major burst of electromagnetically charged particles that lit up the Earth's night sky as they entered our planet's atmosphere. The effect was stunning: a dazzling display of auroras reaching as far as southern California. Forecasters that it was one of the largest solar storms in decades, making for a particularly unique opportunity to watch the show unfold.