Solar Flare Surprise Solar flares are supposed to obliterate everything in their vicinity, yet one of the most powerful flares of the past 30 years has done just the opposite, emitting a beam of pure and unbroken hydrogen atoms. Researchers think this strange event could yield vital clues to the inner workings of solar flares. + Read More + Listen to Story + en español
The Oddball Hosts of Gamma-ray Bursts Cosmic explosions known as gamma-ray bursts are curiously picky about where they explode. Shunning spiral galaxies like the Milky Way, gamma-ray bursts prefer to 'go off' in oddball star systems that astronomers are just beginning to understand. + Read More + Listen to Story + en español