What does the new solar cycle mean?

According to the European Space Agency (ESA), a new solar cycle commences when “new spots emerging at mid-latitudes on the Sun’s surface are opposite in magnetic polarity than the sunspots from the previous cycle.” However, due to the variability of the sun, it can take months for scientists to declare that an event …

What do scientists use to predict how strong a solar maximum is going to be?

Together, they predicted dates for Cycle 25’s start and peak, and the peak sunspot number, an indicator of how strong the cycle will be. The more sunspots, the higher the sunspot number, and the more solar eruptions a cycle is expected to unleash.

Why are scientists tracking sunspot cycles?

Because sunspots are associated with solar activity, space weather forecasters track these features in order to help predict outbursts of “solar storms”. Historical records of sunspot counts, which go back hundreds of years, verify that this sunspot cycle has an average period of roughly eleven years.

How does a solar storm work?

Flares occur in active regions often around sunspots, where intense magnetic fields penetrate the photosphere to link the corona to the solar interior. Flares are powered by the sudden (timescales of minutes to tens of minutes) release of magnetic energy stored in the corona.

Are solar cycles predictable?

When a cycle has been ongoing for more than three years, the sunspot group emergence can be predicted along with its uncertainty during the rest time of the cycle. The method for this prediction is to start by generating a set of random realizations that obey the statistical relations of the sunspot emergence.

How do scientists predict solar flares?

Instability of the magnetic field is triggered by magnetic reconnection, where the field lines swap around. If we can find some position where a small amount of magnetic reconnection could trigger instability, then we can predict that a big flare should start from there. It is similar to that avalanche.

How do scientists study the solar system?

Planetary scientists use lots of different techniques involving lots of branches of science to try to answer these questions: Use unmanned robot spacecraft to make measurements of the planets and their planetary systems. Use telescopes on the ground or in space to make observations of distant planets, moons, etc..

What features do scientists study about sunspots?

Surveying sunspots is the most basic of ways we study how solar activity rises and falls over time, and it’s the basis of how we track the solar cycle. Sunspots correspond with the Sun’s natural 11-year cycle, in which the Sun shifts from relatively calm to stormy.

How do scientists track the solar cycle?

Scientists use sunspots to track solar cycle progress; the dark blotches on the Sun are associated with solar activity, often as the origins for giant explosions – such as solar flares or coronal mass ejections – which can spew light, energy, and solar material into space.

What happens during the solar cycle?

Credit: Dan Seaton/European Space Agency (Collage by NOAA/JPL-Caltech) Giant eruptions on the Sun, such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections, also increase during the solar cycle. These eruptions send powerful bursts of energy and material into space. This activity can have effects on Earth.

What is the Solar Cycle 25 Prediction?

The Solar Cycle 25 Prediction Panel, an international group of experts co-sponsored by NASA and NOAA, announced that solar minimum occurred in December 2019, marking the start of a new solar cycle. Because our Sun is so variable, it can take months after the fact to declare this event.

Will the next solar cycle be similar to the last?

The Solar Cycle 25 Prediction Panel, an international team of experts on the Sun, agreed that the next solar cycle will be similar to the last one. This may mean the end of a weakening solar cycle trend, with each cycle exhibiting less activity than the one before it.