Unveiling the Sun

The space age ushered in a new era of solar physics, in which the full extent and character of the Sun was revealed. Perhaps most notable was the discovery of huge plasma eruptions from the Sun, that are known as coronal mass ejections. This talk will take a look at the importance of space-based data in studying the Sun and will discuss the latest research that shows coronal mass ejections are caused by magnetic fields in the Sun's atmosphere that have been deformed into twisted ropes of magnetism that the Sun struggles to hold down.