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Latest about solar maximum
1,300-pound spacecraft will crash to Earth today following intense solar activity, NASA warns
NASA's Van Allen Probe A is falling to Earth much sooner than expected, though the spacecraft's reentry poses a low risk to humans.
The sun just experienced its first 'spotless days' in 4 years — but we're not in the clear yet
Earlier this week, the number of visible sunspots on our home star fell to zero for the first time in 1,335 days. This normally indicates a period of greatly reduced solar activity, but it's still too soon to relax, experts say.
Giant sunspot that triggered recent solar 'superstorm' shot out nearly 1,000 flares and a secret X-rated explosion, record-breaking study reveals
The massive sunspot that sparked an "extreme" geomagnetic storm in May 2024 unleashed hundreds of other dangerous solar flares, including a hidden X-class outburst, a new paper reveals. The study sets a record for the longest continuous observation of a single active region on our home star.
'The sun is slowly waking up': NASA warns that there may be more extreme space weather for decades to come
A new NASA study suggests that solar activity will remain high or rise further in the coming decades, contradicting previous assumptions that the sun was quieting down — and scientists "don't completely understand" why.
Gigantic 'letter S' spotted on the sun just before a 'dark eruption' hurls a fiery shadow at Earth
A giant S-shape structure, around 10 times wider than Earth, recently appeared in the center of the sun, moments before our home star unleashed an even larger plume of plasma that later crashed into our planet.
'Cannibal' solar storm could paint auroras above 18 US states this Labor Day
Space weather experts warn that a "strong" geomagnetic storm will rock Earth on Sept. 1-2, potentially lighting the skies with vibrant auroras across large parts of North America. The disturbance is being triggered by a rare, cannibalistic ejection from the sun.
Solar tornado rages on the sun as a giant plasma plume erupts
There's a giant solar tornado raging on the sun's surface, and a researcher captured it — plus a massive plasma eruption — in one spectacular image.
Behold, 'The Beast': Gigantic animal-like plasma plume 13 times wider than Earth hovers over the sun
Astrophotographers have snapped stunning shots of a giant shapeshifting solar prominence, dubbed "The Beast," which appeared over the sun's northeastern limb on July 12 and rained impossibly fast fire over our home star.
Astrophotographer snaps 'once-in-a-lifetime' shot of solar flare photobombing the ISS
An astrophotographer has captured an extremely rare and "difficult" photo of a solar flare exploding from the sun at the exact moment the International Space Station passed directly in front of our home star.
