Posted on 10/16/2024 5:18:20 PM PDT by george76
NASA and NOAA have declared the Sun’s solar maximum, noting increased sunspot activity and heightened solar events that influence Earth’s space weather.
This period is linked to significant geomagnetic storms and aurora displays, with potential disruptions to satellites and communication systems.
Solar Maximum Announced by NASA and NOAA..
During a teleconference on Tuesday, officials from NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the international Solar Cycle Prediction Panel declared that the Sun has entered its solar maximum period. This phase, characterized by heightened magnetic activity, could continue for the next year.
The solar cycle is an approximately 11-year period during which the Sun oscillates between periods of low and high magnetic activity. At the cycle’s peak, the Sun undergoes a magnetic flip where its magnetic poles reverse positions—akin to Earth’s North and South poles switching places every decade. This transition marks the shift from a quieter phase to one of intense activity and frequent solar storms.
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Sunspot Monitoring and Solar Activity..
To monitor and forecast the stages of the solar cycle, and ultimately, solar activity, NASA and NOAA track sunspots, which are cooler areas on the Sun’s surface. These spots arise from concentrated magnetic fields and are key indicators of the Sun’s more active regions. These regions of intense and complex magnetic fields are not only visually striking but are also the origins of powerful solar eruptions.
“During solar maximum, the number of sunspots, and therefore, the amount of solar activity, increases,” said Jamie Favors, director, Space Weather Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “This increase in activity provides an exciting opportunity to learn about our closest star — but also causes real effects at Earth and throughout our solar system.”
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The solar cycle is the natural cycle of the Sun as it transitions between low and high activity. During the most active part of the cycle, known as solar maximum, the Sun can unleash immense explosions of light, energy, and solar radiation — all of which create conditions known as space weather. Space weather can affect satellites and astronauts in space, as well as communications systems — such as radio and GPS — and power grids on Earth.
Effects of Solar Activity on Earth...
Solar activity strongly influences conditions in space known as space weather. This can affect satellites and astronauts in space, as well as communications and navigation systems — such as radio and GPS — and power grids on Earth. When the Sun is most active, space weather events become more frequent. Solar activity has led to increased aurora visibility and impacts on satellites and infrastructure in recent months.
During May 2024, a barrage of large solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) launched clouds of charged particles and magnetic fields toward Earth, creating the strongest geomagnetic storm at Earth in two decades — and possibly among the strongest displays of auroras on record in the past 500 years.
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Historical Perspective on Solar Cycles..
Solar cycles have been tracked by astronomers since Galileo first observed sunspots in the 1600s. Each solar cycle is different — some cycles peak for larger and shorter amounts of time, and others have smaller peaks that last longer.
“Solar Cycle 25 sunspot activity has slightly exceeded expectations,”
--Star Trek (TV series), A Taste of Armageddon
That is, some will be inclined to use the occasion of this unseen event to call for whatever autocratic response the Deep State wishes.
I see that some don’t remember what you mentioned about lack of solar activity but I do.
Just in time to help disrupt the election. The sun...the ultimate member of the Deep State.
The first time I remember thinking about sunspots was the huge 1958 solar cycle, and I've been interested in them ever since.
I used to listen to short wave radio a lot, and that is affected by sun spots. I lived out of the range of TV stations so the radio was my entertainment companion. And of course the nighttime AM clear channels were part of my entertainment too.
:)
My first thought also
Yeah, the IPCC says solar radiance variation isn’t important...
Pffft. As if the sun has anything to do with earth’s climate.
Hardly definitive publications on solar physics.
Sunspot cycles are not perfect & I don’t know a soul who thinks they are!
It's really an 11 year HALF cycle, with the poles returning to the same location every 22 ish years.
Importantly, there are differences in the sun's radiation power related to the differences between the inner and outer sun's core. They beat at slightly different rates, meaning that for some cycles they add to each other and for some cycles they fight.
For more info, look up grand solar minimum or maunder minimum. (Those who subscribe to "global warming" from human causes hate this info.)
I don’t know about NASA they said you can’t reuse rockets
Just something else Kamala will blame Trump for.
They wouldn’t dare!
Would they?
Look towards the south west once the sky is fairly dark, about 7:30 PM for us. It’s slightly above the horizon and has a LONG tail that points upward. It is fuzzy looking.
It is faint, but was not that hard to see. Binoculars help.
All this Solar activity had already resulted in some spectacular sky shows at lower latitudes than normal. This one happened in New Zealand.
There were several articles right here on FR about the topic.
Keyword search on maunderminimum:
https://freerepublic.com/tag/maunderminimum/index
Quiet sun sets new record for spotless days (Maunder like Min on the way)
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3790866/posts
Grand Solar Minimum Intensifies
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3708280/posts
‘Winter Is Coming’ Warns The Solar Physicist The Alarmists Tried To Silence
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3458869/posts
Not sure I agree with that.
However, Earth did get hit with a Category 4 (out of 5) coronal mass ejection last week, which was unusually strong.
This reminds me of about 4 or 5 years ago (more or less). The scientists were predicting:
“the end of sunspots”
“the sun was dying”
“solar activity has ceased”
“sun spots have disappeared”.
Evidently they were wrong.
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Solar Cycle 24 was the weakest in 100 years. Cycle 25 was predicted to be as weak or weaker based on theoretical model simulations. But Cycle 25 turned out to be a bit stronger, but still weaker than Cycles 21, 22 and 23. The twin dynamos controlling the 11 and 22 year cycle are non-linear and dynamic, similar to that of El Nino/La Nina.
See https://www.solen.info/solar/images/comparison_recent_cycles.png
My point is these cycles are natural and not part of some series of anthropogenic events.
Modern popular science journalism is now every bit as bad as political journalism. These journalists sensationalize (Sober facts are boring!) and write to fit an agenda.
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