Lyman-alpha emissions convey a major part of the solar-flare photon energy reaching Earth and play a significant role in flare-driven enhancements of ionospheric conductivity.
Solar irradiance
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Observational Data Validate Models of Sun’s Influence on Earth
Using a combination of independent models and observations over multiple timescales, scientists verify two important models that gauge the amount of solar radiation Earth receives.
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Virtual Super Instrument Enhances Solar Spacecraft
The same algorithms that help control self-driving cars and speech-to-text functionality have helped build a virtual instrument to study the Sun.
Posted inScience Updates
Better Data for Modeling the Sun’s Influence on Climate
Several international initiatives are working to stitch together data describing solar forcing of Earth’s climate. Their objective is to improve understanding of climate response to solar variability.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Spacecraft Returns Its First Data on Martian Solar Irradiance
Scientists demonstrate the capabilities and limitations of the mathematical model used to calculate solar irradiance using measurements from NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN).
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Model of Solar Cycle's Impact on Climate Gets Upgrade
A new model of how the Sun's 11-year cycle affects climate leads to slight changes in model results on atmospheric chemistry, but temperature and wind results are consistent with the previous model.
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Charles A. Barth, 1930–2014
Long-time director of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics conducted pioneering studies of the atmospheres of Earth and other planets using ultraviolet spectroscopy.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
What Causes Sunspot Pairs?
Analysis of magnetic fields on the Sun's surface offers a new clue on why sunspots appear.
Posted inScience Updates
Rapid Coordination Extends Space-Based Sun-Climate Record
Faced with the prospect of a large data gap in solar irradiance records, scientists take steps to ensure that this key climate variable stays monitored.