These images help to unravel the magnetic mechanisms driving the sun's behavior and shaping the space environment throughout the solar system.
When last year's solar superstorm Gannon slammed into Earth, it not only painted the sky with beautiful auroras, but also shrunk one of the planet's protective layers to just one-fifth its usual size.
Solar storms don't just trigger impressive auroras; they can scramble the GPS systems U.S. farmers rely on.
The eruption was accompanied by a CME, which is currently under analysis to assess whether any part of it is headed for Earth.
The X5.1-class eruption from sunspot AR4274 is this year's most powerful solar flare and Earth is in the firing line.
"Solar Orbiter can now provide this missing piece of the puzzle."
The back-to-back eruptions caused radio blackouts across two hemispheres as the active sunspots turn to face Earth.
"This discovery ends a protracted search for these waves that has its origins in the 1940s."
A massive coronal mass ejection erupted from the sun's far side late on Oct. 21, 2025 and was captured by a NOAA coronagraph.
A haunting grin appeared on the sun as bright active regions and dark coronal holes combined to create a jack-o'-lantern face just in time for Halloween.
