ScienceDaily: Space & Time News


Lightning impacts edge of space in ways not previously observed

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 03:55 PM PDT

A team of researchers working with data collected by an Incoherent Scatter Radar (ISR) have examined the simultaneous impacts of thunderstorms and solar flares on the ionospheric D-region (often referred to as the edge of space).

Dark matter is slowing the spin of the Milky Way's galactic bar

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 12:39 PM PDT

For 30 years, astrophysicists have predicted such a slowdown, but this is the first time it has been measured. The researchers say it gives a new type of insight into the nature of dark matter, which acts like a counterweight slowing the spin.

Boundary of heliosphere mapped

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 12:39 PM PDT

For the first time, the boundary of the heliosphere has been mapped, giving scientists a better understanding of how solar and interstellar winds interact.

The sun's clock

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 08:08 AM PDT

Not only the 11-year cycle, but also all other periodic solar activity fluctuations can be clocked by planetary attractive forces. With new model calculations, they are proposing a comprehensive explanation of known sun cycles for the first time. They also reveal the longest fluctuations in activity over thousands of years as a chaotic process.

Black holes help with star birth

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 08:08 AM PDT

The cosmic mass monsters clear the way for the formation of new suns in satellite galaxies.