NASA's Heliophysics Gallery

Formally the Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP)!

Classic Light-Bulb CMECoronal mass ejection images don't get much clearer than this. The European Space Agency and NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory witnessed this CME on Feb. 27, 2000, from a rare side view. Looking like a light-bulb, this classic image shows the core of the CME, surrounded by a cavity, and then bordered by the leading edge of the CME.This image is what’s called a coronagraph which blocks the light coming from the sun, in order to see the much fainter light from around the sun. Credit: ESA/NASA/SOHO || cmeweek1_c3full.gif (1024x1024) [910.5 KB] ||

Large cooler regions on the solar photosphere where magnetic flux is concentrated.

Solar energetic events that can impact Earth.

Energetic events on the Sun can have dramatic impact on Earth and its magnetosphere. These natural events can have significant effects on Earth and space-based technologies that can cause anything from inconveniences (such as minor communications and power disruptions) to high-impact events that have significant political and economic implications (outages of large sections of the electrical power grid and other support infrastructure). To better meet these challenges, mathematical models of the heliospheric and geospace environment are under development to better forecast these solar energetic events and their impacts on Earth. The visualizations here illustrate two models generated by the CCMC for modeling space weather events. The CCMC hosts many different computational models. Both models were generated based on a single coronal mass ejection (CME) event in December 2006. Enlil: The Enlil model is a time-dependent 3-D magnetohydrodynamic (MHD, Wikipedia) model of the heliosphere. In these simulations, the model covers a torus-like region around the Sun, with the inner edge at about 0.1 astronomical units (AU) (about 22 solar radii) from the Sun and the outer edge extends beyond the orbit of Mars (1.5 AU). The model extends to 60 degrees above and below the solar equator. The model propagates the changes in particle flows and magnetic fields. BATS-R-US: BATS-R-US is also an MHD model of plasma from the solar wind moving through the Earth's magnetic dipole field. The model is initialized using measurements of the solar wind density, velocity, temperature, and magnetic field from satellites orbiting L1, such as ACE.

A visualization of the slow changes of the solar magnetic field over the course of four years. || PFSSbasicView_inertial.HD1080i.0400_print.jpg (1024x576) [168.7 KB] || PFSSbasicView_inertial.HD1080i.0400_searchweb.png (320x180) [78.9 KB] || PFSSbasicView_inertial.HD1080i.0400_thm.png (80x40) [5.8 KB] || PFSSbasicView_inertial_1080p30.mp4 (1920x1080) [326.6 MB] || PFSSbasicView_inertial_1080p10.mp4 (1920x1080) [470.2 MB] || PFSSbasicView_HD1080p10.mov (1920x1080) [804.4 MB] || PFSSbasicView_inertial_1080p30.webm (1920x1080) [18.1 MB] || frames/1920x1080_16x9_30p/PFSSbasicView/ (1920x1080) [128.0 KB] ||

Solar Cycle 25 has begun. The Solar Cycle 25 Prediction Panel announced solar minimum occurred in December 2019, marking the transition into a new solar cycle. In a press event, experts from the panel, NASA, and NOAA discussed the analysis and Solar Cycle 25 prediction, and how the rise to the next solar maximum and subsequent upswing in space weather will impact our lives and technology on Earth. A new solar cycle comes roughly every 11 years. Over the course of each cycle, the star transitions from relatively calm to active and stormy, and then quiet again; at its peak, the Sun’s magnetic poles flip. Now that the star has passed solar minimum, scientists expect the Sun will grow increasingly active in the months and years to come. Understanding the Sun’s behavior is an important part of life in our solar system. The Sun’s outbursts—including eruptions known as solar flares and coronal mass ejections—can disturb the satellites and communications signals traveling around Earth, or one day, Artemis astronauts exploring distant worlds. Scientists study the solar cycle so we can better predict solar activity.

Visualization of the radiation belts with confined charged particles (blue & yellow) and plasmapause boundary (blue-green surface) || Earth_BeltsPlasmapauseParticles_Oblique.noslate_GSEmove.HD1080i.0400_print.jpg (1024x576) [136.6 KB] || Earth_BeltsPlasmapauseParticles_Oblique.noslate_GSEmove.HD1080i.0400_web.png (320x180) [96.2 KB] || Earth_BeltsPlasmapauseParticles_Oblique.noslate_GSEmove.HD1080i.0400_searchweb.png (320x180) [96.2 KB] || Earth_BeltsPlasmapauseParticles_Oblique.noslate_GSEmove.HD1080i.0400_thm.png (80x40) [6.9 KB] || BeltsPlasmapauseParticles_HD1080.mov (1920x1080) [28.3 MB] || Earth_BeltsPlasmapauseParticles_Oblique_HD1080.mp4 (1920x1080) [16.6 MB] || BeltsPlasmapauseParticles_HD720.mov (1280x720) [10.6 MB] || frames/1920x1080_16x9_30p/ (1920x1080) [64.0 KB] || Earth_BeltsPlasmapauseParticles_Oblique_HD1080.webm (960x540) [2.3 MB] || BeltsPlasmapauseParticles_iPod.m4v (640x360) [3.7 MB] ||

The ionosphere is layer of the upper atmosphere (60-1000 km up) where the neutral atoms and molecules of the lower atmosphere transition to the plasma of space.