In a breakthrough that will help scientists unlock mysteries of the Sun and its impacts on Earth, an international team of scientists led by NCAR has created the first-ever comprehensive computer model of sunspots.

Travis Metcalfe, NCAR's High Altitude Observatory • How common are planets like Earth around other stars like the Sun? Are we unique, rare, or typical in that regard? Metcalfe likes asking big questions.

A new technique developed at NCAR will help asteroseismologists learn about stars from their oscillations, or “starquakes.” These variations in the brightness of stars reveal information about their internal structures.

NCAR scientists are working on a bigger, bolder version of WACCM (the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model), called WACCM-eXtension, or WACCM-X for short. The enhanced version extends the model to an altitude of about 310 miles.