May and June 2024 saw the highest sunspot numbers on the sun since 2002, but is the peak of the solar cycle here yet? The sun follows an 11-year solar cycle of increasing and decreasing activity.

Aurora records in royal chronicles from Korea show that during the 'Maunder Minimum' between 1645 and 1715, the sun's solar cycles became several years shorter than they are today. When you purchase ...

The sun is on the verge of a significant event: a magnetic field reversal. What causes this switch in polarity, and is it dangerous for anything on Earth? Let's take a deep dive into the phenomenon of ...

Our sun has officially hit its solar maximum, with increased rates of auroras and solar flares expected in the coming months, NASA has announced. The sun goes through 11-year cycles of activity, ...

Activity on the sun is not constant; it varies along a cycle of about 11 years. The peak of this solar cycle — called solar ...

Much of the Sun's tempestuous nature comes from its core. At its core is dense, electrically charged gas. Electrically charged gas is a special form of matter called a plasma. This roiling, boiling ...

Like the number of sunspots, the occurrence of solar flares follows the approximately 11-year solar cycle. But as the current Solar Cycle 25 approaches its peak, how are the number of solar flares ...

Scientists have struggled to accurately forecast the strength of the sun’s 11-year cycle — even after centuries of solar observations. The sun looks immutable, a boring celestial lightbulb that’s ...

Every morning, astronomer Steve Padilla takes a short walk from his home to the base of a tower that soars 150 feet above the ground. Tucked in the San Gabriel Mountains, about an hour’s drive north ...