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    New Sunspot Cycle could be one of the Strongest on Record, new research predicts

    December 9, 2020, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    A visualization of the magnetic bands moving toward the equator and "terminating"
    LEFT: Oppositely charged magnetic bands, represented in red and blue, march toward the equator over a 22-year period. When they meet at the equator, they annihilate one another.

    RIGHT: The top animation shows the total sunspot number (black) and the contributions from the north (red) and south (blue) hemispheres. The bottom shows the location of the spots.

    Scientists use an extended, 22-year solar cycle to make the forecast. In direct contradiction to the official forecast, a team of scientists led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) is predicting that the Sunspot Cycle that started this fall could be one of the strongest since record-keeping began.

    In a new article published in Solar Physics, the research team predicts that Sunspot Cycle 25 will peak with a maximu...

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    ‘Terminators’ on the Sun trigger Plasma Tsunamis and the start of New Solar Cycles

    July 28, 2019, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    An animation of a solar tsunami
    This visualization of a computer model simulation shows a solar tsunami, which is initiated at the equator. As the tsunami travels toward the poles it buoys the toroidal magnetic fields (white lines) traveling deeper in the solar interior. As these bands are lifted to the surface, they erupt as sunspots on the solar surface. (©UCAR. Visualization: Mausumi Dikpati, NCAR. This animation is freely available for media & nonprofit use.)

    The next solar cycle is predicted to take off within a year. In a pair of new papers, scientists paint a picture of how solar cycles suddenly die, potentially causing tsunamis of plasma to race through the Sun’s interior and trigger the birth of the next sunspot cycle only a few short weeks later.

    The new findings provide insight into the mysterious timing...

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