Solar Maximum

Produced by the Space Telescope Science Institute’s Office of Public Outreach in collaboration with NASA’s Universe of Learning partners: Caltech/IPAC, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Video imagery:

·       Sun March 21, 2024, 304 angstrom light: NASA/SDO

·       Sunspot comparison: NASA/SDO

·       Solar Cycle 25 forecast graph: NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center

·       Aurora over southwestern British Columbia: NASA/Mara Johnson-Groh

·       Parker Solar Probe animation: NASA GSFC/CIL/Brian Monroe

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Various planets, stars, galaxies, and nebulae are shown. Text: News from the Universe. 

 

Solar Maximum, October 25, 2024. Solar Dynamics Observatory. The sun appears against a black outer space background. It is deep orange-red with various flares on its surface. Text: International scientists including teams at NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have announced that the Sun has reached its solar maximum period. 

 

Solar maximum is an extended period of increased magnetic activity on the Sun, part of the 11-year solar cycle. 

 

Side-by-side images of a solar minimum and maximum are shown. The minimum is lighter orange. A line graph titled I.S.E.S. Solar Cycle Sunspot Number Progression appears below the images. It has a hump in the middle in red and gray, and a blue zig zag line that climbs the upward side of the hump. 

 

Text: Scientists track the Sun's increased activity by looking for an increase in dark sunspots on its surface. In May 2024, 82 solar flares, plus coronal mass ejections, created the strongest geomagnetic storm at Earth in two decades and among the strongest auroras on record in the past 500 years 

 

Geomagnetic energy flares from a dark red sun. An aurora borealis appears with greens, pinks, reds, and oranges. Text: Increased solar activity also means ejections from the Sun that can negatively affect astronauts, satellites, radio, and GPS systems. 

 

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NASA's Parker Solar Probe will make its closest-ever approach to the Sun in December 2024, helping humans to learn more about our star during this crucial period of its cycle. 

 

A solar probe hovers near an intense sun shooting out light rays. 

 

Text: This news was brought to you in part by: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.