The Sun is a big ball of fire that has a magnetic field, like oither astronomical objects in the solar system. The Sun´s magnetic field causes tremendous solar activity,
including solar flares, sunspots and solar wind reaching the entire
solar system. Every 11 years the Sun´s magnetic poles flip over,
producing periods of great solar activity (solar maximum) followed by
periods of least solar activity (solar minimum). During a solar maximum, the Sun´s activity
increases with a quantitative number of sunspots on its surface,
including solar flares blowing out into space and billions of tons of
electrified gases blasted into space, as well.
The solar cycle has been observed since the invention of the telescope, and it has been continuously observed by astronomers, to date. Astronomers have been able to discover the sun´s cycle by counting the number of sun spots appearing on the sun on a given monthly period and this indicates that the sun goes from periods of inactivity and activity during an 11-year cycle. The time period from 1645-1766 was a time during which very few sunspots were observed. This period is known as the Maunder minimum.
Sunspots may remain visible anywhere from a few days to a couple of months; however, they eventually fade away, releasing strong magnetic flux in the solar photosphere, generating the Sun´s magnetic field. The polarity of sunspots in one hemisphere is opposite to that of the sunspots of the other hemisphere, and the polarities interchange from one cycle to the next. The dipolar component of the Sun´s magnetic field reverses the polarity just about the time of the solar maximum.
Magnetic fields are stretched out and wrap around the Sun by the change in rotation rate (differential rotation). The Sun´s differential rotation can make a north-south oriented magnetic field wrap around the Sun in approximately 8 months. This twisting of the magnetic field lines is produced by the Sun´s rotation. The Sun rotates every 24 hours at the equator, and takes 35 days to rotate at the poles. The twist makes the magnetic field reverse from one sunspot cycle to the next.
The flow of material along meridian lines from the equator to the both sides of the poles through the surface and from both poles to the equator below the surface are thought to play an important role in the Sun´s magnetic dynamo. At the surface the flow is slow; however, below the surface, the flow is slower due to a higher density. This slow flow would transport material from the mid-latitudes to the poles in approximately 11 years, suggesting that the variations observed in the meridional circulation are the cause of variations in sunspot cycle.
The latest prediction for the Sun´s 11 year cycle 24 was a solar maximum in 2013; however, solar cycles are not regular and sometimes may take from 9 to 14 years to complete.Solar storms due to soalr activity can damage satellites and other space craft on the outer space eand within the earth´s atmosphere.
The solar cycle has been observed since the invention of the telescope, and it has been continuously observed by astronomers, to date. Astronomers have been able to discover the sun´s cycle by counting the number of sun spots appearing on the sun on a given monthly period and this indicates that the sun goes from periods of inactivity and activity during an 11-year cycle. The time period from 1645-1766 was a time during which very few sunspots were observed. This period is known as the Maunder minimum.
Sunspots may remain visible anywhere from a few days to a couple of months; however, they eventually fade away, releasing strong magnetic flux in the solar photosphere, generating the Sun´s magnetic field. The polarity of sunspots in one hemisphere is opposite to that of the sunspots of the other hemisphere, and the polarities interchange from one cycle to the next. The dipolar component of the Sun´s magnetic field reverses the polarity just about the time of the solar maximum.
Magnetic fields are stretched out and wrap around the Sun by the change in rotation rate (differential rotation). The Sun´s differential rotation can make a north-south oriented magnetic field wrap around the Sun in approximately 8 months. This twisting of the magnetic field lines is produced by the Sun´s rotation. The Sun rotates every 24 hours at the equator, and takes 35 days to rotate at the poles. The twist makes the magnetic field reverse from one sunspot cycle to the next.
The flow of material along meridian lines from the equator to the both sides of the poles through the surface and from both poles to the equator below the surface are thought to play an important role in the Sun´s magnetic dynamo. At the surface the flow is slow; however, below the surface, the flow is slower due to a higher density. This slow flow would transport material from the mid-latitudes to the poles in approximately 11 years, suggesting that the variations observed in the meridional circulation are the cause of variations in sunspot cycle.
The latest prediction for the Sun´s 11 year cycle 24 was a solar maximum in 2013; however, solar cycles are not regular and sometimes may take from 9 to 14 years to complete.Solar storms due to soalr activity can damage satellites and other space craft on the outer space eand within the earth´s atmosphere.
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