The Earth is a giant magnet. This simple fact, established at the end of the 16th century, is essential to an understanding of the processes that give rise to the aurora or Northern (and Southern) Lights.

As a part of the International Year of Planet Earth the International Heliophysical Year started the first day of March. The project will focus on the interaction between the Earth’s atmosphere and outflow from the Sun and interstellar sources.

Are we alone in the universe? Not very likely! On one, or several of the billion celestial bodies in the Universe there has got to be some kind of life. Intelligent peoples like us might exist, although it may sound like utopia. However, how do we find out?

Nearly unaffected by all hindrances, billions of neutrinos reach the earth every second. They do not only reach us, and the earth, they also pass through us unaffectedly, even through the core of the globe, and ultimately come out on the other side and continue the travel through space. Neutrinos are extremely small elementary particles that have one very particular feature: a strong antipathy for interaction with other matter, and without electrical charge.

With Hinode in orbit the Solar Research community has got a new way of studying the processes on the Sun. The processes affect and interect with the surroundings of Earth, and it is important to obtain new knowledge.

SOHO is one of the most successful space missions in history and has provided scientists and the public with a wealth of spectacular images and scientific data. It has revolutionized our understanding of the Sun, solar eruptions and of space weather effects.

Venus Express Enters Orbit around the Hothouse Planetnating.

With Cluster II’s four satellites in space for the forth year in a row, Cassini in orbit around Saturn, Rosetta on its way to the Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko and Smart-1 closer and closer to the Moon, the Swedish Institute of Space Physics in Uppsala receives large amounts of scientific data every day.

The Cassini RPWS instruments with Scandinavian participation reveals a dynamic Titan.

The Cassini/Huygens project is a cooperative effort between NASA and ESA to study the planet Saturn, its systems of rings and icy moons….