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Articles on Solar activity

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A nuclear reaction is under way inside the Sun. Emily Nunell/The Conversation CC-NY-BD

Curious Kids: how is the Sun burning?

It’s true that here on Earth, if you want to burn something you need oxygen. But the Sun is different. It is not burning with the same kind of flame you would have on Earth if you burned a candle.
Ten Earths could be laid across the diameter of the gigantic sunspot in AR2191 during its previous rotation – captured on October 23, 2014. NASA’s Solar Dynamic Observatory

Giant sunspot returns – and it’s bigger and badder than ever

The largest sunspot seen in 24 years is rotating back to face the Earth, and it looks to have grown even bigger. Last month, the solar active region known as AR12192 (also known as AR2192 to some of its…
Amazing colours in the Southern Lights seen from Primrose Sands, near Hobart. Francois Fourie

The Southern Lights put on a display in the night sky

Over the past few months night sky watchers in the southern parts of Australia have been presented with lots of beautiful displays of the Aurora Australis or Southern Lights. So what causes the impressive…
What’s going on up there? VinothChandar

Why is the sun going quiet?

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. This story is a reminder that our sun is a…

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