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Articles on Sun

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The Blackfeet always faced their tipis towards the rising sun, including on winter solstice. Beinecke Library via Wikimedia Commons

What winter solstice rituals tell us about indigenous people

For indigenous peoples, winter solstice has been a time to honor their ancient sun deity. Their rituals reveal a deep understanding of the natural world.
The Sun is a star – but it’s not the only one. NASA/GSFC/Solar Dynamics Observatory

Curious Kids: Is there anything hotter than the Sun?

There are lots of places where it’s much, much hotter than the Sun. And the amazing thing is that this heat also makes new atoms - tiny particles that have made their way long ago from stars to us.
Sunrise over Brisbane. Flickr/Sam Petherbridge

It’s going to be a long summer’s day today, seriously

A solar day is a measure of how long it takes the Earth to rotate from one noon to the next, and today’s summer solstice also happens to be the longest solar day of the year.
A huge solar flare flashes in the middle of the sun on Sept. 6, 2017. A separate image of the Earth provides scale. NASA/GSFC/SDO

Massive sunspots and huge solar flares mean unexpected space weather for Earth

At a time in the sun’s cycle when space weather experts expect less solar activity, our star is going bonkers with solar flares and coronal mass ejections. What effects will Earth feel?
A total solar eclipse will be visible across parts of the United States Aug. 21, treating amateur and professional astronomers alike to sights similar to this NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory ultraviolet image of the moon eclipsing the sun on Jan. 31, 2014. (NASA)

How to safely watch an eclipse: Advice from an astronomer

If you’ve ever wondered why you can look at a solar eclipse and why it can harm your eyes, the answer is in the sun’s rays.

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