How to observe the sun safely (and what to look for)

A person looking at the sun while standing next to a telescope.

You don't need to wait until nightfall to go stargazing.

Each day the sun — our yellow dwarf star– rises in the east and sets in the west, but have you ever looked at it up close? About 93 million miles from Earth, the sun is a 4.5 billion-year-old ball of hydrogen and helium that demands a closer look.