So this is unexpected . The Sun is currently at the peak of its11 - year solar Hz . It should beawash with sunspots , solar flare , coronal mass expulsion and the alike . And yet , observations show our parent adept has actually beenpretty quiet this year – so still , in fact , this year ’s solar max could go down as the weak in a century .
What the hell is happening on the Sun ?
https://gizmodo.com/a-massive-solar-eruption-may-lead-to-the-strongest-radi-5878525
“ It ’s the low uttermost we ’ve seen in the Space Age , ” said David Hathaway of NASA ’s Marshall Space Flight Center yesterday via teleconference .
in the first place this twelvemonth , there was hypothesis that scientists had miscalculated the maximum of the current cycle , though it ’s become progressively ostensible that no , this is the uttermost , it ’s just a quiet one . And that , according to NASA , is n’t necessarily rare :
schematic wisdom hold that solar activity baseball swing back and forth like a simple pendulum . At one end of the cycle , there is a hushed meter with few sunspot and flares . At the other end , Solar Max brings high sunspot numeral and solar storms . It ’s a regular rhythm that recur every 11 years .
world , however , is more complicated . stargazer have been counting sunspots for centuries , and they have seen that the solar cycle is not absolutely regular . For one affair , the back - and - forth swing in macula count can take anywhere from 10 to 13 years to fill in ; also , the bounty of the cycle varies . Some solar uttermost are very weak , others very stiff .
Back in March , solar physicist Dean Pesnell of the Goddard Space Flight Center suppose that the Sun could be experiencing a quiet between two tiptop in sunspot body process . A similar “ matching elevation ” solar level best , Pesnell said , occurred back in 1989 , and again in 2001 . The first acme of the current solar maximum , he say , reached its zenith in 2011 , dip in 2012 , and continued through the beginning of 2013 . “ I am well-off in say that another peak will happen in 2013 and possibly last into 2014 , ” he predicted at the time .
But 2014 is tight coming , and still no signs of a second spike . Is this a spoiled matter ? scarce . Disappointing ? You might think so , said Hathaway at yesterday ’s conference , “ but it ’s quite the opposite . ”
SPACE.comgives an model of what Hathaway and his colleauges are taking away from this cycle per second ’s tamer - than - usual antics :
North - south , or meridional , period carry magnetised elements from macula to the sun ’s poles , building up the diametric magnetic fields until they eventually flip around the time of the solar utmost , Hathaway excuse . scientist are noticing that the effectiveness of the polar airfield when a new cycle per second begin influences the long suit of the cycle , he added . For exercise , weak polar fields observed in 2008 led to the current sapless Hz , while strong arctic fields in 1986 spawned a impregnable Cycle 22 .
The polar field have been slowly reversing at this maximum , Hathaway said , suggesting that they are not going get much warm during Cycle 24 . This also sets the stage for an even small utmost during Cycle 25 , scientists believe .
“ We ’re seeing fields that evoke the next sun cycle will be even watery than this one , ” Hathaway said .
Us ? We still have our finger crossed for that second peak . We could always go for a few morefacemelting CMEs , but 2013 is fast running out of days .
This solar eruption video will straight up melt your brass it ’s so awesome
[ NASA|SPACE.com ]
AstronomyScienceSolar flareSpace
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