NASA's Heliophysics Gallery

  • Released Thursday, March 4th, 2010
  • Updated Wednesday, June 26th, 2024 at 12:00AM

Overview

The Sun is a major influence on Earth's weather and climate. The focus of NASA's Sun-Solar System Connection is to understand this relationship from the perspective of the entire system.

You can find out more by visiting the Heliophysics Page, the NASA Living with a Star program, and the Solar-Terrestrial Probe web site.

Missions - Operational

Missions - Historical

Space Weather

Flares and CMEs and Auroras, Oh My!

Solar Science

Studying the Sun itself.

Heliosphere

That not-so-empty space between the solar corona and the boundary of
interstellar space.

Magnetospheres

The magnetic fields of small and large bodies around the solar system alter the space plasma near that body.

Ionosphere, Thermosphere, Mesosphere (ITM)

Interesting physics occurs at the boundary layers between the electrically neutral atmospheres of planets and the plasma of space.

NASA Heliophysics Resources

We live in an exciting environment: the heliosphere, the exotic outer atmosphere of a star. The heliosphere is an immense magnetic bubble that extends well beyond the orbit of Pluto. This bubble contains our solar system, solar wind, and the entire solar magnetic field. The heliosphere is also the one part of the cosmos accessible to direct scientific investigation; our only hands-on astrophysical laboratory. As our society becomes ever more dependent on technology, we are increasingly susceptible to space weather disturbances in this tumultuous region. We call the study of the connections between the sun and the solar system, Heliophysics.'

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