We’re all familiar with the sun’s daily motion in the sky. It rises in the east, gets higher in the sky until circa noon, then begins its hours-long descent to set on the western horizon.

The sun will reach solar maximum, or a peak in activity across its 11-year cycle, about a year sooner than originally predicted. Auroras, solar flares and space weather are all expected to increase.

During the day, the sky is so bright from this light that no stars (well, except the sun) can be seen. They’re too faint. At night, after the sun sets and its scattered light diminishes, the sky ...