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
X-class solar flares hit a new record in 2024 and could spike further this year — but the sun isn't entirely to blame, experts say
There were significantly more X-class solar flares in 2024 than any other year for at least three decades. The arrival of solar maximum was a key reason for the spike, but other factors were also at play.
Auroras could light up the skies on Christmas, thanks to a powerful solar flare heading toward Earth
A display of auroras is expected to light up the skies on Christmas Day, thanks to a powerful M8.9 solar flare enroute to Earth.
10 supercharged solar storms that blew us away in 2024
The sun's most active phase, solar maximum, officially arrived in 2024, triggering some explosive solar storms and colorful auroras. Here are 10 of our favorite solar outbursts this year.
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
Observations made using a new method have revealed that sun-like stars produce cataclysmic superflares once every hundred years. Could our sun create one soon?
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.
