The Sun affects the Earth in many ways. The solar wind, a continuous stream of charged particles escapes from the Sun. There are two kinds of solar wind: a slow wind, which blows at a speed of about 400 km/s, and a fast wind which blows at a speed of about 750 km/s and originates in the magnetically open regions in coronal holes. Some eruptions on the Sun send billions of tons of charged particles towards the Earth reaching us in a few days. Sometimes flares and CMEs can accelerate high energy particles moving very fast. These events are called proton events. They are the ones that can kill astronauts and penetrate satellites causing damage to electronics. The most energetic particles reach the Earth in less than 30 minutes.
The first space walkers did not know much about proton events. In the picture is the first American space walker Edward White in 1965. (White's walk lasted for 22 minutes)
