Space Weather Today

Like weather on Earth, space weather is constantly changing. On Earth you can simply look out the window to see if it is sunny or raining. Scientists use a host of telescopes, magnetometers, radiation sensors, and other instruments scattered around the globe and onboard a fleet of spacecraft to monitor, and sometimes even predict, space weather.

On 21 April, 2010, the Solar Dynamics Observatory captured the launch of a filament from the <a href="/sun/atmosphere/photosphere.html&edu=elem">surface of the Sun</a>.  These are the most detailed images of the Sun ever taken.  The images show light in the <a href="/physical_science/magnetism/em_ultraviolet.html&edu=elem">ultraviolet</a> part of the <a href="/physical_science/magnetism/em_spectrum.html&edu=elem">electromagnetic spectrum</a>.  The Sun is now entering another period of <a href="/sun/solar_activity.html&edu=elem">solar activity</a> after several years of a relatively quiet Sun.  Activity on the Sun varies on an <a href="/sun/activity/sunspot_cycle.html&edu=elem">cycle of about 11 years</a>.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of NASA/Solar Dynamics Observatory and AIA Consortium</em></small></p>

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