Massive eruption on dead star pushes particles to cosmic speed limit

A burned-out stellar core produced a shockwave that pushed particles to their theoretical speed limit, scientists have reported. Astronomers used a gamma-ray observatory in Namibia called the High Energy Stereoscopic System (HESS) to show how an eruption creates a shock wave that accelerates material around it super-fast speeds. The research focused on RS Ophiuchi, a … Read more

Tonga volcano eruption unlikely to cool Earth, study confirms

The Hunga Tonga volcanic eruption that shook the South Pacific Ocean in January will not affect Earth’s climate despite sending clouds of ash dozens of miles high into the atmosphere, a new study confirmed.  Powerful volcanic eruptions, such as the one that ripped apart the uninhabited Polynesian island of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai on Jan. 15, … Read more

Tonga volcano eruption yields insights into asteroid impacts on Earth

On Jan. 15, 2022, the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano erupted off the coast of Tonga in the South Pacific Ocean, generating a tsunami and triggering resulting wave action alerts around the world.  The underwater volcanic eruption spewed ash, steam, and gas a radius of over 160 miles (260 kilometers) and more than 12 miles (19 … Read more

Tonga underwater volcano eruption shattered two records

An underwater volcano in the South Pacific erupted last month and shattered two records simultaneously: The volcanic plume reached greater heights than any eruption ever captured in the satellite record, and the eruption generated an unparalleled number of lightning strikes — almost 590,000 over the course of three days, Reuters reported. “The combination of volcanic heat and the … Read more

Solar Orbiter spacecraft captures huge eruption on the sun (video)

The Solar Orbiter spacecraft made a milestone observation in space as it captured a huge solar prominence, or eruption. It’s the largest such event ever observed in a single image along with the full solar disk and will add to the joint NASA-European mission to better understand solar activity, mission officials said in a statement. … Read more

NASA Says Tonga Eruption Sent Up Highest Ash Plumes Ever Captured by Satellite

When a volcano in Tonga erupted on January 15, it gave satellites their first glimpse at a plume of volcanic ash shooting into the mesosphere, the third layer of Earth’s atmosphere.   According to NASA, the Tonga event was the largest volcanic eruption since satellites began monitoring our planet. As the Pacific volcano shot a burst of ash … Read more

The Sun Has Erupted Non-Stop All Month, And There Are More Giant Flares Coming

The past few weeks or so have been a very busy time for the Sun. Our star has undergone a series of giant eruptions that have sent plasma hurtling through space. Perhaps the most dramatic was a powerful coronal mass ejection and solar flare that erupted from the far side of the Sun on February … Read more

Powerful solar flare from recent sun eruption should reach Earth Wednesday

A CME erupted on Jan. 30, 2022 and is set to arrive at Earth on Feb. 2, 2022.  (Image credit: SOHO) A powerful solar flare has been traveling through space and it will arrive at planet Earth Wednesday (Feb. 2).  In the early hours of Saturday morning (Jan. 30), a coronal mass ejection, a powerful … Read more

Tonga eruption was so intense, it caused the atmosphere to ring like a bell

The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption reached an explosive crescendo on Jan. 15, 2022. Its rapid release of energy powered an ocean tsunami that caused damage as far away as the U.S. West Coast, but it also generated pressure waves in the atmosphere that quickly spread around the world. The atmospheric wave pattern close to the eruption was quite complicated, but … Read more

New Models Let Us Dive Into One of The Brightest Star Explosions We’ve Ever Seen

A star that exploded into brightness nearly 200 years ago can now be explored in glorious, multi-wavelength detail. In a new video, a team of scientists modeled the Homunculus Nebula around the star Eta Carinae in three dimensions, enabling insight into this incredible event.   The binary system Eta Carinae started erupting in the late … Read more