The sun is the beating heart of our solar system and supports all life on Earth. At Live Science, you can learn more about this precious star as it reaches a major peak in solar activity called a solar maximum. Whether it's the dazzling "shooting stars" discovered in the sun's atmosphere, a massive solar explosion felt on Earth, the most devastating solar storm in recorded history, or just spectacular images of the sun, our expert writers and editors will have you in awe of that bright ball in the sky with the latest sun news, features and articles.
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Latest about The Sun
Space photo of the week: The sun's corona blooms during back-to-back solar eclipses
Composite images reveal how the sun's corona changed from one total solar eclipse to another in 2023 and 2024, just as solar activity began to peak.
'Like they were demon possessed': Geomagnetic super storms are causing tractors to dance from side to side across US farms — and the sun is to blame
Powerful solar storms in May and October painted auroras across large parts of North America. But some U.S. farmers also witnessed unusual activity from their high-tech machinery, which started boogying back and forth as a result of the geomagnetic disturbances.
Our sun may be overdue for a 'superflare' stronger than billions of atomic bombs, new research warns
A conceptual image of the sun launching a massive fiery plume toward Earth.
We are fast approaching the sun's 'battle zone' — and it could be even worse than solar maximum, experts warn
Space weather experts warn that solar activity will persist or even increase after solar maximum has ended and we enter a phase of the solar cycle dubbed the "battle zone."
Extremely rare, black 'anti-auroras' paint luminous 'letter E' above Alaska
A "bizarre" E-shaped aurora was recently photographed dancing in the sky above Alaska. The unusual light show was caused by rare black auroras, a.k.a. anti-auroras, which catapult charged particles from the sun back out of Earth's atmosphere and into space.
Thanksgiving auroras? Solar storm likely to hit Earth on Thursday and Friday, NOAA warns
An outburst of solar energy looks primed to hit Earth on Thursday, potentially bringing auroras to the northern U.S. on Thanksgiving and Black Friday.
Solar maximum just knocked 3 satellites out of orbit. Here's why more may be on the way.
The Sun's activity is what gives us beautiful auroras — but it also has dramatic negative effects on satellites that go around Earth in a low orbit.
Aurora activity is just getting started. Here's why the best northern lights are yet to come.
Discover why the best aurora displays occur after solar maximum, and why 2026-2027 could be the year of the northern lights.
Watch sun erupt in 1st images from NOAA's groundbreaking new satellite
NOAA shared new images taken by the world's first operational space-based coronagraph, CCOR-1, captured during a solar storm outburst.
Scientists finally confirm that solar maximum is well underway — and the worst could still be to come
A surprise announcement from scientists involved in monitoring the solar cycle has finally confirmed that the sun's most active and dangerous phase — solar maximum — is already well underway, and could continue for at least a year.
