Sun

India's Aditya-L1 and other nations racing to Sun

As Indian Space Research Organisation is set to launch its solar mission Aditya-L1 on 2 September, following are some important missions launched by space agencies of different countries exploring the Sun

'Defying physics': What is the mysterious object that is 10 million times brighter than the sun?

NASA recently found a ultraluminous X-ray light called M82 X-2, which is 10 million times as bright as the sun. Scientists are scrambling to understand this celestial object that is upending the current understanding of physics

Mercury is in retrograde: What does it actually mean?

Retrograde motion refers to the apparent movement of a planet in the opposite direction to its usual path around the Sun, as observed from Earth. However, the planet itself does not actually change direction

The Vanishing Act: Why Saturn’s rings are disappearing

Can you imagine Saturn without its rings? Yes, they are eroding. They will disappear in a few hundred million years and while this sounds like a long time, it’s a ‘quick death’ in the history of the universe, says a lead researcher

The sun is reaching solar maximum: What does this mean? What should the Earth be prepared for?

Solar maximum might arrive in 2024, a year earlier than expected. The sun will reach the peak of its current solar cycle. It can lead to large-scale blackouts and disrupt radio communications across the world. The increased radiation activity can have serious health consequences for astronauts

Hugh Jackman is urging people to wear sunscreen: Can it prevent skin cancer?

'Wolverne' star Hugh Jackman has disclosed that he has had two biopsies as a result of a recent skin cancer scare. In the video, he further urged his fans to slather on sunscreen this summer. But do sunscreens really prevent skin cancer?

Can shooting clouds of Moon dust towards the Sun combat global warming?

A group of US scientists has proposed mining dust on the Moon and launching it towards the Sun to cool the Earth. However, this is not as simple as it sounds

WATCH: Huge portion of the Sun breaks off from the surface, swirls around its North Pole

Researchers at NASA were baffled when they saw a piece of the Sun, breaking off from its surface and creating a vortex around its North Pole. Scientists are still trying to understand what impact this event will have on Earth, and when.

Watch: Piece of sun breaks off; leaves scientists baffled

The material circumnavigated the pole at a latitude of about 60° in about 8 hours. This indicates that 96 kilometres per second, or 60 miles per second, is the upper bound for the calculation of the horizontal wind speed in this occurrence

A Christmas asteroid is approaching Earth. What is it and how scared should you be?

A Christmas asteroid, which is just about the size of the Statue of Liberty, is rapidly approaching Earth and the European Space Agency has challenged astronomers to spot the rock