Even at a distance of 93 million miles (150 million kilometers) away, activity on the Sun can have adverse effects on technological systems on Earth. Solar flares - intense bursts of energy in the Sun's atmosphere - and coronal mass ejections - eruptions of plasma from the Sun - can affect the communications, satellite navigation and power grid systems that keep society functioning.

On Sept. 24, 2025, NASA launched two new missions to study the influence of the Sun on the solar system, with further missions scheduled for 2026 and beyond.

I'm an astrophysicist who researches the Sun, which makes me a solar physicist. Solar physics is part of the wider field of heliophysics, which is the study of the Sun and its influence throughout the solar system.

The field investigates the conditions

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