Sun | featured news

A glimpse beyond our solar system reveals the neighborhood just outside the sun's influence is different and stranger than expected, scientists reported Tuesday....

Fast on the heels of a solar storm that delivered a glancing blow over the weekend — triggering bright auroras in Canada and Scandinavia — the sun released an even more energetic blast of radiation and charged plasma overnight that could disrupt GPS signals and the electrical grid Tuesday, especially at high latitudes, space weather experts warned Monday morning.

A huge sunspot unleashed a blob of charged plasma Thursday that space weather watchers predict will blast past the Earth on Sunday. Satellite operators and power companies are keeping a close eye on the incoming cloud, which could distort the Earth’s magnetic field and disrupt radio communications, especially at higher latitudes.

Larger than expected variations in the Sun's ultraviolet output can explain weather patterns in recent northern hemisphere winters, including the UK's cold spells, scientists conclude.

Warming up on its solar cycle, the sun uncorked a a strong solar storm that reached Earth on Monday, federal scientists said, posing a threat to satellites and radio communications, although no interruptions had been reported to date.

The sun unleashed another major solar flare Wednesday, a solar storm so powerful it could spawn dazzling northern lights displays that could be visible from even New York City. The solar flare erupted at 6:23 p.m. EST (2323 GMT), letting loose a wave of charged particles that is aimed straight at Earth and should arrive in the next few days.

Earth braces for cosmic tsunami Tuesday night as tons of plasma from massive solar flare heads directly toward the planet ...

A rare sun-like star that is both young and relatively close to Earth has been found to be harboring an even weirder object - a failed star locked in a close orbit around its host, according to a new study.

The calmest sun in a century may rustle up more hurricanes in the season that officially began Tuesday.

Astronomers announced this week they found a water-rich and relatively nearby planet that's similar in size to Earth.