Simon Frantz

Managing Editor

Video showing a slow-moving edge of the red-colored sun pointing upwards. A large solar flare erupts, starting at the right and moving towards the center as the edge of the sun rotates anti-clockwise.

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How We See the Beautiful, Violent Sun

May 28, 2026

Over hundreds of years, increasingly sophisticated instruments have revealed — and continue to reveal — the secrets of our star.

About the author

Simon Frantz joined Quanta Magazine as Managing Editor in 2024. He was managing editor of features at BBC.com, and he helped launch BBC Future where he became editor. Simon also served as senior editor at Nobelprize.org, web editor at The Scientist, and news editor at Nature Reviews Drug Discovery. As editor and managing editor, his sites have regularly been recognized with awards, including Webbys, Lovies, Online Journalism Awards, and Association of British Science Writers Awards. Before entering journalism, he studied Biochemistry at the University of Liverpool and researched the genetics of cardiovascular diseases at the University of Leicester.

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Simon Frantz

How We See the Beautiful, Violent Sun

Simon Frantz

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How We See the Beautiful, Violent Sun