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Replay available until 01/17/2025 A source of light, life and energy, the Sun is at the heart of the concerns of part of the scientific community. Indeed, the threat of a solar storm constantly looms over our planet. These gigantic masses of waves and particles, released unpredictably on the surface of the Sun, can seriously damage the networks created by humans. While the most recent storm narrowly avoided Earth in 2017, our planet has already experienced other large-scale solar flares. In 2003, one of them caused a power outage in Malmö and the loss of contact with two Japanese satellites. Even more impressive, the 1989 solar storm plunged Canada into darkness and cut off the heating network for six hours in the middle of winter. Linked to fluctuations in the solar wind, a phenomenon discovered a little over half a century ago, these eruptions are far from having revealed all their secrets: to this day, science remains unable to predict their occurrence. But that could soon change: two missions - one from NASA, the other from the European Space Agency - are currently underway to take measurements as close as possible to the sun. Using two probes put into orbit, Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter, American and European scientists are seeking to better define this phenomenon which, according to initial observations, seems much more complex than previously believed. Documentary by Lars Ole Reimer (Germany, 2020, 53 mins) Subscribe to the ARTE channel / @arte Follow us on social media! Facebook: / artetv Twitter: / artefr Instagram: / artefr