Our world is highly dependent on the sun. It provides us with warmth as well as the energy needed to grow the food we eat. Fluctuations in solar activity can dramatically affect climate change and Earth and space based electronics. As our closest star, the Sun is the most easily accessible stellar sample. Understanding the Sun, its relation to our solar system, and its relation to the entire universe sheds light on all of cosmic physics.

Solar flares spew radiation and plasma into the solar atmosphere and toward Earth. Although Earth's magnetic fields redirect many of the incoming charged particles, an intense solar eruption can endanger astronauts, damage satellites, and disrupt communications on Earth.