solar flares

The biggest sunspot to grace the face of the sun in more than two decades is rotating out of view, but it was responsible for kicking up some truly amazing solar activity this week.

The solar storms currently affecting Earth have created stunning northern lights displays for skywatchers.

Powerful solar flares from the sun this week may amplify the northern lights displays over parts of the northern United States through the weekend, space weather scientists say.

The sun launched back-to-back solar flares directly at Earth this week, but the geomagnetic storms pose little danger, officials said.

Four spacecraft and one ground-based observatory recorded the eruption of a powerful X-class solar flare on March 29, making it the best-observed such event in history, NASA officials said.

The sun erupted with a major solar flare on Tuesday (Feb. 25), an X4.9 solar flare that is the biggest sun storms of the year. See how a familiar sunspot triggered the massive solar storm here.

The sun is our nearest star and the source of all our light and heat on Earth but recent reports have highlighted an ongoing steep decline in solar activity.