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NBC News
4 days ago
- Politics
- NBC News
NASA loses another senior official as tension grows about the agency's future
The director of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center announced her resignation Monday, marking yet another high-profile departure as questions loom about the agency's budget and future. Makenzie Lystrup, who has served as director of the center in Maryland since April 2023, will leave the agency on Aug. 1, according to a NASA statement. Goddard oversees a number of key NASA missions, including the Hubble Space Telescope, the Solar Dynamics Observatory and the OSIRIS-REx mission that collected samples from an asteroid. Lystrup's resignation comes less than two months after Laurie Leshin stepped down as director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The departures are playing out as NASA and other government agencies contend with significant cuts to funding and personnel, as part of a broader push to shrink the size of the federal workforce. Questions are swirling internally at NASA and on Capitol Hill about how the space agency can accomplish its work with far fewer personnel and why such cuts are moving ahead before Congress has authorized the agency's budget. Meanwhile, more than 2,000 senior-level employees are set to leave NASA as part of an effort to cut the agency's workforce, as was first reported by Politico. Those include people in senior positions of management and individuals with specialized skills, Politico reported, raising concerns about a 'brain drain' at the space agency. Workers at the space agency have until Friday to accept 'deferred resignations,' buyouts or early retirement offers. President Donald Trump's proposed budget for 2026 would slash about 25%, or more than $6 billion, from NASA's budget. The steepest cuts would come out of the agency's space science, Earth science and mission support divisions, according to the budget blueprint. If enacted by Congress, the budget would also phase out NASA's Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft, which the agency was developing to return astronauts to the moon. In response to the budget blueprint, more than 280 current and former NASA employees signed a letter to Sean Duffy, NASA's interim administrator, stating that the Trump administration's recent policies 'have or threaten to waste public resources, compromise human safety, weaken national security, and undermine the core NASA mission.' The letter, known as the Voyager Declaration, said the changes have caused 'catastrophic impacts' to the agency's workforce, and have 'prioritized political momentum over human safety, scientific advancement, and efficient use of public resources.' Before NASA's prior acting administrator Janet Petro was replaced by Duffy, employees pressed her to explain how the budget cuts and restructuring underway served the best interests of the space agency, according to internal correspondence read by NBC. It's not clear if Lystrup and Leshin's departures are related to the ongoing turmoil at NASA and other government agencies. In NASA's announcement about Leshin's resignation, it said she was stepping down 'for personal reasons.' The agency did not provide a reason for Lystrup's resignation. In an internal email obtained by NBC News, Lystrup said she leaves with 'confidence' in the Goddard's leadership team 'and all of you who will shape the next chapter of this center.' 'I am honored to have been part of this incredible journey with you,' she wrote in the email. 'It has been my privilege.' NASA said Monday that Cynthia Simmons, who currently serves as Goddard's deputy director, will take over as acting center director in August.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Sun Blasts Powerful X1.2-Class Solar Flare
Watch footage of the Sun unleashing an X1.2-class solar flare. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured the fireworks in multiple wavelengths. Footage courtesy: NASA / SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams, Helio Viewer | edited by Steve Spaleta Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Colossal eruption carves 250,000-mile-long 'canyon of fire' into the sun (video)
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. On July 15, a colossal filament erupted from the sun's northeastern limb, dramatically reshaping part of our star's surface, albeit briefly, and unleashing a coronal mass ejection (CME) into space. The outburst was so powerful that it carved a glowing trench of hot plasma more than 250,000 miles (about 400,000 kilometers) long, roughly the distance from Earth to the moon. The explosive event was captured in stunning detail by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), showing the filament unraveling as solar material arcs and cascades through the sun's atmosphere. As the filament collapsed, it left behind what some call a "canyon of fire," with towering walls estimated to rise at least 12,400 miles (20,000 km) high, according to These glowing rifts form when the sun's magnetic field lines violently snap and realign after an eruption, leaving behind a searing hot trench of plasma that traces the reshaping magnetic field, according to NASA. This fiery chasm isn't just a visual spectacle. Filaments are cooler, dense ribbons of solar plasma that can hang suspended above the sun's surface by magnetic fields, according to NOAA. When these become unstable, they can erupt dramatically, sometimes launching coronal mass ejections (CMEs) into space — powerful blasts of solar plasma and magnetic fields that can trigger geomagnetic storms here on Earth. Coronagraph imagery from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) and GOES-19 satellite suggests that while the filament eruption did release a CME, there is no Earth-directed component. "The CME is heading away from Earth," aurora chaser Vincent Ledvina wrote in a post on X. "Here is the CME in LASCO C2 (left) and CCOR-1 (right) which has a later frame of the CME further spread out. The front is traveling pretty slowly and away from Earth." You can keep up to date with the latest northern lights forecasts, alerts and geomagnetic storm warnings with our aurora forecast live blog. Solve the daily Crossword
News18
12-07-2025
- Science
- News18
Sun's South Pole Captured For The First Time In Historic Mission
Last Updated: ESA-NASA's Solar Orbiter reveals the Sun's South Pole for the first time, uncovering the star's magnetic chaos and opening a new era in space science In a landmark achievement for solar observation, the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA have unveiled the first-ever images of the Sun's South Pole, captured by the joint Solar Orbiter mission. Released on June 11, 2025, these high-resolution images offer an extraordinary new perspective on our closest star. A Unique Orbital Path Previous missions such as SOHO and the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) have only viewed the Sun from the plane in which Earth and other planets orbit. However, the Solar Orbiter broke new ground by reaching an angle of 17 degrees above the solar plane, capturing the South Pole in unprecedented detail on March 23, 2025. The Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) recorded views of the corona, that is, the Sun's superheated outer layer reaching temperatures of one million degrees Celsius. 🌞 See the Sun from a whole new the first time, our Solar Orbiter mission has captured close-up images of the Sun's mysterious poles, regions long hidden from our view. In 2025, Solar Orbiter gave us a first-ever look at the Sun's south pole. Remarkably, it… — European Space Agency (@esa) June 11, 2025 Surprising Discoveries At The Solar South Pole Among the most striking revelations is a region of magnetic chaos at the Sun's South Pole, where north and south magnetic fields intertwine. This phenomenon occurs as the Sun undergoes a magnetic field reversal approximately every 11 years, triggering heightened solar activity including sunspots, solar flares, and coronal mass ejections. Professor Carol Mandel, ESA's Director of Science, heralded the discovery as 'humanity's first glimpse into the Sun's deepest mysteries." Mission Breakthrough And Future Prospects Launched in 2020 at a cost of $1.3 billion, the Solar Orbiter reached a viewing angle of 15 degrees below the solar equator by March 2025, an achievement unattainable from Earth. By 2029, the spacecraft is expected to achieve a 33-degree inclination, promising even more comprehensive polar observations. Professor Sami Solanki of the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research confirmed that the findings align closely with existing computer models of the Sun's magnetic field. The Sun's Magnetic Dance Unlike Earth, the Sun is a plasma sphere with varying rotation speeds; its equator rotates every 26 days, while the poles rotate roughly every 33 days. This differential rotation causes the magnetic field to contort, eventually flipping the Sun's magnetic poles. Professor Lucy Green of University College London, who has been part of the mission since 2005, explained that the Sun's magnetic field governs its activity cycles. A solar minimum, when magnetic activity is at its lowest, is predicted within the next five to six years. Scientists hope that data from Solar Orbiter will improve forecasting of such phenomena. Overcoming Past Limitations Although NASA's Ulysses probe passed over the solar poles in the 1990s, it lacked imaging capability. The Solar Orbiter is the first mission to provide both magnetic data and visual imagery, revolutionising solar science and offering critical insights into space weather that can affect Earth. First Published: June 12, 2025, 14:23 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
National Geographic
11-07-2025
- Science
- National Geographic
What does a solar tornado look like? One photographer got these incredible shots
From a dark sky site in Portugal's Alqueva Dark Sky Reserve, Portuguese astrophotographer Miguel Claro captured stellar views of the sun's chromosphere—the orange-red layer of the sun's atmosphere—over the last few years. The sun produces energy in its core through a process called nuclear fusion. That energy travels outward to the sun's atmosphere, producing an extremely complex and dynamic environment with a variety of special phenomena, including solar tornadoes and solar prominences. 'Photographing the sun is as demanding as it is incredible,' Claro says. When he looks at the sun through his equipment, he sees 'that the sun is always featuring something new—something that wasn't there the day before.' Below is a slew of fascinating features captured from our host star. A time-lapse of this solar prominence reveals a tornado of plasmic activity. This time-lapse, taken April 24, 2025, showcases a twister on the sun. A solar tornado is created when magnetic fields swirl a tornado-like filament of boiling plasma in the sun's atmosphere. According to NASA's space-based Solar Dynamics Observatory, they can rotate at speeds up to 186,000 miles per hour. (For comparison, tornadoes on Earth only reach speeds of 300 miles per hour.) Scientists estimate there are as many as 11,000 solar tornadoes above the sun's surface at any given moment. A solar flare is documented on April 30, 2022, from the Dark Sky Alqueva region in Portugal. According to Spaceweather, 'the explosion still produced enough radiation for a strong shortwave radio blackout over the mid-Atlantic Ocean and Europe.' The solar chromosphere is seen on May 10, 2024, showing the most severe geomagnetic storm of the past 20 years, which created aurora borealis phenomena across the Northern hemisphere. A large solar prominence captured on April 24, 2025. A plasma eruption, caused by the sun's churning plasma tangling its magnetic field, is captured on June 15, 2025. Claro notes the phenomenon "resembles braids of hair." The activity from this solar storm created aurora borealis across the Northern Hemisphere, seen as far south as Texas and Arizona. On May 10, 2024, one of the most severe solar storms in over two decades hit Earth. Solar storms happen when sudden, strong bursts of charged particles from the sun hit Earth's atmosphere. They can trigger a beautiful light show in the form of auroras and can also wreak havoc on earthly technologies like power grids and our fleet of space-based satellites.
