Solar flares are sudden variations in the brightness of a surface region of the Sun. Magnetic energy builds up in the solar atmosphere, above active regions, where sunspots are located. This magnetic energy is suddenly released as radiation across the entire electromagnetic spectrum.

The visible surface of the Sun is called the photosphere. Sunspots are darker, cooler regions on the bright, hot photosphere. Whilst the photosphere has a temperature of around 6000°C, sunspots are between 3000°C and 4000°C.

Life on Earth has taken billions of years to evolve. Life includes anything which can do the following things:

The Sun is average star, but without its energy we would not exist.

Earth is the third planet from the Sun.

The Sun is average star, but without its energy we would not exist.

Earth is the third planet from the Sun. It is the largest of four terrestrial planets and the only known place in the universe where life has evolved.

We get Day and Night because the Earth spins around each day, making the Sun and stars seem to move across the sky. However, the movement of objects in the sky varies depending on where you are in the world, and on the time of year.

An eclipse of the Sun, or Solar Eclipse, occurs when the Moon comes directly between the Sun and the Earth so that the Earth lies in the shadow of the Moon.