The transition region in the Sun is the atmospheric layer that separates the cooler chromosphere from the hotter corona. Studying the structure and dynamics of the transition region requires greater attention as these provide critical information on the supply of mass and energy from the lower atmosphere to the corona and Read more…
By Galin Borisov (not the interstellar comet discoverer) During this tough period of COVID-19 pandemic, most of the astronomical observatories around the world are closed and no observations are carried out. But my Bulgarian colleague, Yanko Nikolov, decided to self-isolate in the mountain and fulfil the observations with the 2m Read more…
By Christopher Duffy Studies of the sun, our closest star, have shown that sun spot activity and solar eruptions, also known as solar flares, are strongly correlated – regions of the sun with many sun spots are found to be the typical point of origin for most solar flares. This Read more…
Those of you going out late in the day for an evening stroll or just enjoying the spring smells in your garden may have noticed a bright white beacon of light shining high in the west after sunset. This is Venus, the closest planet to the Earth and the brightest Read more…
By Professor Gerry Doyle The solar chromosphere is a complex magneto-plasma system that offers the evolution of a variety of plasma dynamics (e.g., jets, mass motions, shocks) as well as magnetic waves. It is separated by the inner corona through the particular discontinuities of mass, density, temperature, characteristic speeds, etc. Read more…
By Marc Sarzi, AOP Head of Research In an age dominated by fast-paced but also dispersive and often incorrect communications, we are often exposed to misleading or irrelevant information. Obtaining reliable news and advice is particularly important today as we live through the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. For this Read more…
It’s not every day, or every year for that matter, that we get to see a really bright comet. Many of us, including the author of this article, remember comet Hale-Bopp that adorned Earth’s skies in the first months of 1997. Since then we’ve had several comets bright enough to Read more…
By Bill Napier, AOP Visiting Astronomer A comet typically comprises about 50% fine dust embedded in a frozen matrix of water, methane, carbon dioxide and other organic compounds. Approaching the inner planetary system it begins to disintegrate, with fragments splitting off along with dust and gas. The fragments spread around Read more…
Just released are first images and videos from the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST) – revealing unprecedented detail of the Sun’s surface, with experts saying it will enable a new era of solar science and a leap forward in understanding the Sun and its impacts Read more…
AOP researchers have used data from a NASA space mission to shed light on one of the most violent phenomena in our solar system – magnetic explosions on the surface of the Sun. Abhishek Srivastava, formerly a research associate at AOP and now a solar scientist at the Indian Institute Read more…