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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—The sun: Facts about the bright star at the center of the solar system
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Sun quiz: How well do you know our home star?
Test your knowledge on the giant ball of burning gas at the heart of the solar system.
Gigantic 500,000-mile 'hole' in the sun's atmosphere aims aurora-sparking solar wind at Earth (photo)
The gigantic coronal hole is blasting high-speed solar wind toward Earth, potentially igniting vibrant auroras and minor geomagnetic activity on Jan. 31.
Invisible 'flickering' on the sun could predict potentially dangerous solar flares hours in advance
Images captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory have revealed that "coronal loops" give off subtle flashes of ultraviolet light before a solar flare, which could act as an early warning system for dangerous space weather.
Auroras predicted over US this weekend as solar storm rips toward Earth
A solar explosion called a coronal mass ejection is poised to graze Earth on Friday or Saturday (Jan. 24 or Jan. 25), potentially triggering colorful auroras over the northern U.S.
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.
