Solar

After a moderate solar flare shot out of the Sun's atmosphere several days ago, Earth could be slammed by a series of small geomagnetic storms today (March 15). The US-based National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the British Met Office predicted that the astronomical phenomenon will have an impact on Earth over the next two weeks. Both NOAA and the British Met Office also issued advisories for mild and moderate geomagnetic storms during the next few days. The storms are unlikely to inflict any damage…

Budget fitness bands and watches are a dime a dozen these days. Then there’s the mid-range wearables segment where things get a little more serious. And those willing to spend the big bucks usually consider the likes of Fitbit, Samsung or Apple when out in the market for a new wearable. And then, there’s the Garmin Instinct 2 Solar. I’m not saying Garmin’s device is better than the others… I’m telling you that it’s in a different league altogether. So much so that after spending a few days with it, I’ve realised it isn’t…

In a major milestone for astronomy, NASA has confirmed the existence of a massive 5,000 planets beyond our own solar system. Not so long ago, we only knew a handful of planets that revolved around our Sun, but the quest to know the world beyond always continued. NASA has now added a fresh batch of 65 planets outside our immediate solar family to its exoplanet archive, pushing the total beyond the 5,000 mark — after a 30-year journey of astronomical discoveries. The NASA Exoplanet Archive records discoveries that have been…

The European Space Agency's solar orbiter has taken the highest-resolution image yet of the Sun's full disk and atmosphere, the corona, during its latest close flyby of our home star. The orbiter was at a distance of just 75 million kilometres – half the distance between Earth's average orbit and the Sun – on March 7, when it got the opportunity to take a close look at the Sun. Using its Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI), the spacecraft took 25 images, each with a nearly 10-minute exposure. Scientists then stitched…

Scientists are expecting a major solar storm to hit the Earth on April 14. This event could cause possible damage to Earth, researchers suggest. Space agencies say that this geomagnetic solar storm could be particularly powerful as the Sun has been quite active lately. Recently, the Sun has been flaring up more. This is because it is approaching its Solar Maxima in its 11-year solar cycle. Solar maxima is the time of greatest activity during the solar cycle. As a result, the Sun has been flaring up with Coronal Mass…

Scientists in Australia are testing printed solar panels they will use to power a Tesla on a 15,100-km (9,400-mile) journey beginning in September, which they hope will get the public thinking about steps to help avert climate change.The Charge Around Australia project will power a Tesla electric car with 18 of the team's printed plastic solar panels, each 18 metres (59 feet) long, rolling them out beside the vehicle to soak up sunlight when it needs a charge.Paul Dastoor, the inventor of the printed solar panels, said…

NASA's Hubble telescope has captured the interstellar visitor Comet Borisov to our solar system and shared its movement as a runaway point of light in a time-lapse video. The agency said that it “was a rocky visit”. Discovered by amateur astronomer Gennady Borisov in 2019, it is the first confirmed comet to enter our solar system from outside our Sun's influence. Comet Borisov is the only second interstellar object to ever enter our solar system: the first such visitor was an object officially named "Oumuamua". It came…

Solar eclipse 2022: Today is the first partial surya grahan of the year. If you want to see this rare phenomenon, there is a way. Check how to watch the solar eclipse online and know date and time. Solar Eclipse 2022: Today, April 30, marks the first solar eclipse, or surya grahan, of the year. Although it is a partial eclipse, meaning the entire solar disk will not be covered by the moon, it is still a huge global event because multiple regions and countries…

If you ever imagined how a solar eclipse would appear from the surface of Mars, you are in for a treat. NASA has shared a “sped-up” video that showed one of Mars' two moons shadowing the Sun as seen from the Martian surface. The interesting video was shot by the space agency's Perseverance rover when Phobos, a small, potato-shaped moon of the Red Planet, moved between Mars and the Sun. “You're just too good to be true. Can't take my eyes off of you,” NASA said, sharing the video on its Instagram account.These observations…

Affordable portable speakers tend to be compact and easy to carry, with a strong focus on usability, but there are some that stand out. One such product is the iGear Evoke, a portable speaker that is quite different from others in its price range, for a number of reasons. At first glance, you might think that this is an old radio set from the past or even a Saregama Carvaan knock-off, but this device packs in modern features and connectivity options that keep it relevant in the current era of wireless audio streaming.With…