For the first time, scientists have used satellite data to create a 3D map of the sun’s interior magnetic field, the fundamental driver of solar activity. The research, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, should enable more accurate predictions of solar cycles and space weather that affects satellites and power grids.

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Cosmic radio pulses repeating every few minutes or hours, known as long-period transients, have puzzled astronomers since their discovery in 2022. Our new study, published in Nature Astronomy today, might finally add some clarity.

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Astronomers have found thousands of exoplanets around single stars, but few around binary stars—even though both types of stars are equally common. Physicists can now explain the dearth.

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Using data collected by NASA’s Parker Solar Probe during its closest approach to the sun, a University of Arizona-led research team has measured the dynamics and ever-changing “shell” of hot gas from where the solar wind originates.

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A UBC Okanagan-led research project has given a group of international scientists their clearest view yet of the Milky Way’s magnetic field, revealing that it is far more complex than previously believed.

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Scientists have long relied on tree rings to learn about ancient solar storms—rare bursts of high-energy particles from the sun that can disrupt satellites, power grids, and communication systems across the planet. When these particles hit Earth’s atmosphere, they create a radioactive form of carbon that trees absorb and store in their wood.

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Using ESA’s Gaia satellite, astronomers have investigated three open clusters in the galactic disk, namely Berkeley 17, 18 and 39. Results of the new study, published January 21 on the arXiv pre-print server, yield crucial insights into the properties of these stellar groupings.

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Last year, astronomers were fascinated by a runaway asteroid passing through our solar system from somewhere far beyond. It was moving at around 68 kilometers per second, just over double Earth’s speed around the sun.

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