Mara Johnson-Groh

2 months ago | wdrb.com | Mara Johnson-Groh |Rick DeLuca

The May 2024 solar storm created two new temporary belts of high-energy particles surrounding Earth. Such belts have been seen before, but the new ones were particularly long lasting, especially the new proton belt. The findings are particularly important for spacecraft launching into geostationary orbits, which can be damaged as they traverse the dangerous belts. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.The largest solar storm in two decades hit Earth in May 2024.

Dec 28, 2024 | scitechdaily.com | Mara Johnson-Groh

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has shattered records by venturing closer to the Sun than ever before, reaching blazing speeds of 430,000 mph. Equipped with groundbreaking technology, it braved extreme temperatures to collect invaluable data, promising to reshape our understanding of solar phenomena and even influence how we explore other stars.

Dec 4, 2024 | pubs.aip.org | Katherine De Lange |Ben Ikenson |Mara Johnson-Groh |Indiah Cornish

Many countries are rapidly shifting their energy generation from fossil fuels to renewable sources like wind and solar. While these have many advantages, they are also dependent on weather for their output. To reduce uncertainty and improve energy production, the field of energy meteorology has been developed to analyze and forecast weather patterns and their effects on renewable energy systems. Schroedter-Homscheidt et al.

Nov 13, 2024 | science.nasa.gov | Mara Johnson-Groh

Auroras occur in an upper layer of Earth’s atmosphere called the ionosphere, but they typically originate with activity on the Sun. Occasionally, during explosions called coronal mass ejections, the Sun releases charged particles that speed across the solar system. When too much energy is pent up, the magnetic field lines snap and release energetic particles that follow magnetic field lines to rain down on Earth’s poles.

Nov 1, 2024 | xpresschronicle.com | Mara Johnson-Groh

As the rivalry between quantum and classical computing intensifies, scientists are making unexpected discoveries about quantum systems. Classical computers outperformed a quantum computer in simulations of a two-dimensional quantum magnet system, showing unexpected confinement phenomena. This discovery by Flatiron Institute researchers redefines the practical limits of quantum computing and enhances understanding of quantum-classical computational boundaries.