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Rockets being passé, China is working on using an electromagnetic railgun to launch crewed spacecraft the size of a Boeing 737, weighing 50 tonnes, into orbit. This remarkably ambitious project is even more ambitious than it seems at first glance.Call it a railgun, a catapult, or a mass driver, the idea of replacing rockets with an electromagnetic accelerator is a very attractive option. Instead of lifting off on chemical rockets that have to carry fuel and fuel to lift the fuel and fuel to lift the fuel and the…

Yet another solar storm warning has been issued by NASA, this time due to Sunspot AR3559. Over the last few months, the solar activity has increased, resulting in multiple X-class solar flares. Some of these flares have caused radio blackouts in regions. As we move towards the peak of solar cycle 25, the Sun's activity, which includes solar flares, CMEs, solar storms, and geomagnetic storms, is expected to increase even more. Now, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) has issued a solar storm warning. Also Read: NASA…

Earth witnessed f X-class solar flares a number of times in the last few months. For the unaware, X-class solar flares are the most intense flares which can result in long-lasting radiation storms. In December, there were two instances of terrifying X-class solar flares hitting the planet, one of which caused a radio blackout in the polar regions for almost 3 days. Now, another solar storm danger has been highlighted as a massive sunspot on the solar surface could hurl out M-class solar flares towards Earth. Know all…

Solar storm alert: Sunspots, solar storms, solar flares, and geomagnetic storms…that was the story of space weather in 2023, and 2024 has kicked off in the same manner. On the last day of 2023, we saw the strongest solar flare emitted since 2017, and it sparked radio blackouts for nearly 4 days in the polar regions. Just a few days later, 4 sunspots with unstable beta-gamma' magnetic fields hurled out M-class solar flares. This is just an indication of the Sun's might and as we approach the solar maximum that will likely…

Even though we're just 4 days into 2024, we've seen already seen several strong solar flares hurled out towards Earth, sparking a solar storm. On December 31, the Sun hurled out an X-class solar flare that hit Earth just a few days ago, and it is still causing radio blackouts in the polar regions. The Sun has been showing all its might for the past couple of months and as we approach the solar maximum that will likely occur in 2024-25, its wrath is only expected to increase. NASA has revealed that the effects of this…

Earth has been bombarded with solar activity in the last few months. In July, it was revealed that 2023 had already broken a 21-year record for the highest number of sunspots which were even more than initially predicted by scientists. But what does the rising number of sunspots mean? The number of sunspots on the Sun is directly related to the intensity of the solar peak. So, the higher the number of sunspots, the higher the chances of solar storms. Solar storms are caused by coronal mass ejections (CME) particles…

Just 5 months into 2023, we have already witnessed damaging solar activity bombard the Earth. Just last month, a menacing cloud of coronal mass ejection, erupting from a sunspot that was 20 times wider than Earth, struck the planet and unleashed a horrifying solar storm. This was later declared the most devastating solar storm in 6 years. It was quite surprising and unexpected. Solar activity has been on the rise for the past few months, and it is expected to increase further until solar maximum, the period of greatest…

Remember the film 2012 which showed the end of the world, as predicted by the ancient Mayan civilisation thousands of years ago? The film's plot was based on the Sun releasing unstable neutrinos due to unusual energy processes in the Sun which were heating up Earth's core. Although this might seem like a terrifying scenario, the science behind the film was questionable. But the threat posed by the Sun is very true. Forecasters have recently discovered multiple sunspots on the solar surface which could hurl dangerous…

NOAA forecasters have revealed that a G-1 class geomagnetic storm is expected to hit the planet in the coming days. The Sun is continuing to spew solar flares and the latest one has fired a powerful CME towards Earth. It will buffets the Erath's magnetosphere. According to NASA, "Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are huge bubbles of coronal plasma threaded by intense magnetic field lines that are ejected from the Sun. CMEs often look like huge, twisted rope, which scientists call 'flux rope'.". If the arriving solar…

A new asteroid impact simulator from creative coder Neal Agarwal is as entertaining as it is terrifying. Asteroid Launcher does what it says on the tin and lets you launch a space rock at Earth to see the amount of devastation it would cause. What makes Asteroid Launcher particularly fascinating is that it lets you make various selections such as the asteroid’s size and composition, its speed and impact angle, and the precise point where it strikes Earth. It then lists the effects of the impact in remarkable detail —…