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Solar Max |
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Just as earth has cycles which we call seasons, the sun also changes
on
a roughly 11-year basis. We call these changes the solar cycle.
We are currently in the solar minimum period. There are few magnetic storms
on the sun, sunspots are rare, and geomagnetic disturbances here on earth
are nearly nonexistent. Aurora watchers must travel to the polar regions to
see
the Lights. However, change is coming. We are again approaching solar maximum.
Recently a new sunspot appeared on the sun, signaling the end of
our quiet period.
This sunspot had a reversed polarity magnetic field. According to NASA's solar
physicist David Hathaway: "New solar cycles always begin with a high-latitude,
reversed polarity sunspot,"
explains Hathaway. "'Reversed polarity' " means a sunspot with opposite
magnetic polarity
compared to sunspots from the previous solar cycle. 'High-latitude' refers
to the sun's grid of latitude
and longitude. Old cycle spots congregate near the sun's equator. New cycle
spots appear higher, around
25 or 30 degrees latitude." Full article may be found here.
As far back as 2006, solar scientists began predicting that our next
solar maximum would
be one of the strongest yet. "This week researchers announced that a
storm is coming--the
most intense solar maximum in fifty years. The prediction comes from a team
led by Mausumi Dikpati
of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). 'The next sunspot
cycle will be 30% to 50%
stronger than the previous one,' she says. If correct, the years ahead could
produce a burst of solar activity
second only to the historic Solar Max of 1958." From Science
@ NASA.
So what can happen during a strong solar max? Sunspots increase and
harbor more energy.
At times, this energy is released in the form of coronal mass ejections (CMEs).
A CME
consists of plasma from the sun itself -- electrons and protons -- with an
accompanying
magnetic field. When these charged particles strike the earth's magnetosphere,
they travel
down the field lines to the poles, colliding with atoms in our atmosphere
along the way. These
collisions can create a display of the aurora borealis. The ejected material
can also strike satellites,
causing drag and damage to electronic circuitry. GPS units and telecommunications
may be disrupted.
In a severe geomagnetic storm, astronauts and high-altitude jet passengers
can receive
higher than normal doses of radiation. Power grids on earth may fail as a
result of the massive
influx of energy. The aurora borealis can sometimes be seen as far south as
Mexico.
For an excellent article on the possible effects of a severe geomag storm,
see
this page on
Wikipedia.
SOLARCYCLE24
has great information, graphs, video and live feed that is updated
every two minutes.
Were you born during a period of solar minimum or solar maximum? Find out
with this nifty
tool from SpaceWeather.com.
You can also use it to correlate important Earth history events like stock
market crashes, the Mets winning,
and other anomalies with the 11-year solar cycle. Dates go back to the 1700s.
Perhaps in the next solar maximum period, we will see glories such
as this:
Aurora panorama photo courtesy of and copyrighted by LeRoy Zimmerman
This page created 05 January 2008, and updated 25 January 2009.
Copyright 2008-2009.
Background music: "The Cloud" -- soundtrack "Star Trek
- The Motion Picture"
Author: Sue
Owens