The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted that auroras may be visible in the coming months following the solar maximum period.
The sun has reached the solar maximum phase of its 11-year cycle, leading to increased solar activity, and experts anticipate that this phase could continue into the next year.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) stated that the solar maximum phase is expected to cause increased solar and
geomagnetic storms, potentially providing more opportunities to spot auroras over the next several months, as well as posing risks of disruptions to technology.
The sun transitions between low and high magnetic activity every 11-year cycle, and these phases are known as solar minimum and solar maximum respectively, according to NASA.
NASA and NOAA
said that the exact peak of the current phase remains uncertain as it can only be determined when there is a consistent decline in solar activity.
“This announcement doesn’t mean that this is the peak of solar activity we’ll see this solar cycle,” Elsayed Talaat, director of space weather operations at NOAA, said in an Oct. 15
statement. “While the sun has reached the solar maximum period, the month that solar activity peaks on the sun will not be identified for months or years.”
NASA and NOAA monitor sunspots to determine the progress of the solar cycle and assess solar activity. Sunspots are cooler regions of the sun formed by concentrated magnetic field lines.
Jamie Favors, director of the Space Weather Program at NASA headquarters, said the number of sunspots increases during the solar maximum phase, which consequently leads to an increase in solar activity.
“This increase in activity provides an exciting opportunity to learn about our closest star—but also causes real effects at Earth and throughout our solar system,” Favors said in a
statement.
Solar activity can affect radio communications, electrical power grids, and navigation signals. NASA stated that solar activity can also affect satellites and astronauts in space.
Earlier this month, the Space Weather Prediction Center issued a geomagnetic storm watch after NASA detected a
powerful X9.0 solar flare on Oct. 3.
Solar flares are bursts of energy that can last from several minutes to a few hours. The strength of these flares is classified on a scale ranging from the lowest B-class to C-class, followed by M-class, and then the largest, X-class, with each letter representing a tenfold increase in energy output.
The Oct. 3 flare was the second strongest in Solar Cycle 25, following an X8.7
flare on May 14. It also marked the strongest since 2017, when the sun emitted two powerful flares measuring X13.3 and X11.8,
according to Space Weather Watch.
