Sun, Earth | featured news

A heavy-duty solar flare erupted on the surface of the sun midmorning Thursday, and it appeared from early data that a solar storm from the X-class eruption was headed toward Earth.

At about 5:45 a.m. Eastern time Thursday, the geomagnetic storm from a massive solar flare that rippled the surface of the sun on Tuesday night finally reached the Earth's atmosphere. The Facebook page for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NWS Space Weather Prediction Center made the announcement. But so far, the storm has been a bit of a dud.

An impressive solar flare is heading toward Earth and could disrupt power grids, GPS and airplane flights....

A huge sunspot unleashed a blob of charged plasma Thursday that space weather watchers predict will blast past the Earth on Sunday. Satellite operators and power companies are keeping a close eye on the incoming cloud, which could distort the Earth’s magnetic field and disrupt radio communications, especially at higher latitudes.

Warming up on its solar cycle, the sun uncorked a a strong solar storm that reached Earth on Monday, federal scientists said, posing a threat to satellites and radio communications, although no interruptions had been reported to date.

Earth braces for cosmic tsunami Tuesday night as tons of plasma from massive solar flare heads directly toward the planet ...

A rare sun-like star that is both young and relatively close to Earth has been found to be harboring an even weirder object - a failed star locked in a close orbit around its host, according to a new study.

Astronomers announced this week they found a water-rich and relatively nearby planet that's similar in size to Earth.