NASA and NOAA said this week that the sun has officially reached Solar Maximum, the peak of its 11-year cycle. NASA heliophysicist C. Alex Young and EarthSky’s founder Deborah Byrd talked about it on this week’s Friday livestream, our Sun News of the Week. Watch in the player above, or on YouTube.| EarthSky
Earth typically has 2 Van Allen belts. They are 2 donut-shaped belts of charged particles, encircling Earth. But scientists have just realized Earth now has a 3rd, temporary Van Allen belt, caused by May’s solar storm. When were the Van Allen belts first discovered? How long have we known that Earth could have a temporary 3rd belt, in addition to the 2 stable ones? What ARE the Van Allen belts, anyway? EarthSky’s Deborah Byrd and heliophysicist C. Alex Young of Goddard Spaceflight Center ...| EarthSky