MPS scientist Theodosios Chatzistergos has been awarded this year's Kees de Jager Prize for the best publication of the past year in the journal Solar Physics. The prize has now been presented. In the publication, the researcher critically reassesses a widely used reconstruction of the Sun's irradiance since 1700, updates and improves it. Unlike the original reconstruction, the modernized version shows only modest variations in the Sun’s irradiance since 1700. These variations do not track Earth’s temperature. The publication is an important contribution to understanding the role the Sun plays in shaping Earth's climate.