- 4368 - SUNSPOT CYCLES - The number of sunspots is increasing. The sun's surface rages on as solar maximum approaches. Solar activity is ramping up on the sun's surface in 2024.
-------------------
4368 - SUNSPOT
CYCLES
-
- Every 11 years or
so, the sun experiences a peak in activity known as solar maximum, due to its
strong and constantly shifting magnetic fields. During this period of the solar
cycle, the frequency and intensity of sunspots on the solar surface increases.
-
- As the sun
approaches the maximum in its magnetic activity cycle, we see more brilliant
explosions, dark sunspots, loops of plasma and swirls of super-hot gas. We are in solar cycle 25, which is expected
to peak in mid- to late 2024 which is one year earlier than previous estimates.
The most recent solar minimum, when the sun is least active, occurred in
December 2019, just two months before Solar Orbiter launched.
-
- At the beginning
of this cycle (the solar minimum) there is relatively little activity and few
sunspots. Activity steadily increases
until it peaks (the solar maximum) and then decreases again to a minimum.
-
- Solar cycle 25
has been full of activity, including strong solar flares and coronal mass
ejections. These powerful solar storms can affect Earth's electric power grids,
GPS, and satellites and cause radio blackouts.
-
- Following the
solar maximum, the sun's magnetic poles flip, causing the sun to grow quiet
again during a solar minimum. The “Solar Orbiter” spacecraft can help
scientists predict the timing and strength of solar cycles; however,
researchers won't know that the sun has reached its maximum until a decrease in
the number of sunspots is observed.
-
- Because birds use
magnetic fields to navigate at night during long-distance migrations, severe
space weather can throw them off course.
New research indicates that severe space weather events, such as solar
flares, disrupt birds' navigational skills during long migrations.
-
- Previous research
has indicated that when flying at night, birds (and many other animals) use
Earth's magnetic field for navigation. Because solar events disrupt the
magnetic field, as well as produce auroras, birds have more difficulty
navigating during them.
-
- Images taken from
37 NEXRAD Doppler weather radar stations can detect groups of migrating birds,
as well as data from ground-based magnetometers studied 23 years of bird
migration across the U.S. Great Plains. The 1,000-mile span from North Dakota
to Texas is considered a major migratory corridor for birds.
-
- The biggest
challenge was trying to distill such a large dataset, years and years of ground
magnetic field observations, into a geomagnetic disturbance index for each
radar site.
-
- The work paid off.
The researchers discovered that the number of migrating birds in this region
decreases by 9 to 17 percent during severe space weather events. They also
noticed increased rates of birds becoming lost during migration, a phenomenon
known as “migratory bird vagrancy”.
-
- The findings
highlight how animal decisions are dependent on environmental conditions,
including those that we as humans cannot perceive, such as geomagnetic
disturbances, and that these behaviors influence population-level patterns of
animal movement.
-
- Severe space
weather events can also throw off human navigation. Solar outbursts affect
satellite communications, disrupting technology like GPS. We can expect more
extreme space weather events as the sun builds towards a peak in its 11-year
solar activity cycle, expected to occur in 2025.
-
- But like weather on
Earth, space weather is fickle and predictions can turn on a dime.
-
-
February 25, 2024
SUNSPOT CYCLES 4368
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--------------------- ---
Monday, February 26, 2024 ---------------------------------
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