The Heliophysics Big Year

The Heliophysics Big Year is a global celebration of the Sun’s influence on Earth and the entire solar system. From Oct. 14, 2023, to Dec. 24, 2024, we are challenging you to participate in as many Sun-related activities as you can!

A little girl stands in front of a large projection of the Sun with her arms outstretched. Several other people stand behind her.

Experiencing the Sun

March 2024

The Sun may be 93 million miles away, but we can still experience it from home, whether it's watching eclipses, auroras, or observing its daily influence on our lives.

How NASA Explores Our Sun
A profile of Earth’s atmosphere and the setting Sun as photographed by an Expedition 15 crew member aboard the International Space Station
NASA

Experiencing the Sun

March 2024

Both in and out of doors, there are so many ways to experience our closest star.
Go outside and make eclipse chalk art!
If you live at high (or low) latitudes, learn how to see the aurora
Build a solar-powered car
Make a UV bead bracelet
Bake a Sun pie
Play Snap it! An Eclipse Photo Adventure
Host a Sun Party!

More Activities
Kids sitting on a concrete pad are using chalk to draw Sun and space-themed drawings on the ground.
Children at a NASA Goddard Sunday Experiment in March 2024 use chalk to make Sun and space-themed drawings.
NASA/Leslie Garrison

Experiencing the Sun

March 2024

There's more to the Sun than meets the eye! Get started with these key facts about the star at the center of our solar system.

Key Facts About Our Sun
Pie slice view showing the Sun 10 different wavelengths of life. It appears as a colorful rainbow spectrum.
This composite image shows the wide range of wavelengths – most of them beyond the range of human vision – that NASA's Solar Dynamic Observatory can view. SDO converts the wavelengths into images humans can see, and the light is colorized into a rainbow of colors.
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

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