Sun reaches Solar Maximum but it doesn’t mean peak activity is over
Solar flares have produced strong to extreme geomagnetic storms this year, including in May when Northern Lights appeared as far south as Florida during the strongest geomagnetic storm in 20 years. NASA said the display of auroras is possibly the strongest on record in 500 years.
What the Sun looks like at Solar Maximum
Images from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory highlight the appearance of the Sun at solar minimum (left, Dec. 2019) versus solar maximum (right, May 2024). These images are in the 171 wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light, which reveals the active regions on the Sun that are more common during solar maximum. (Video: NASA/SDO)
The Sun has reached a period of peak activity in an 11-year cycle known as the Solar Maximum, marked by recent geomagnetic storms and near-global aurora light displays.
Solar Cycle 25 has been ongoing, and scientists with NOAA and NASA have been tracking sunspots to determine and predict solar activity. The past two years marked the active phase of the solar cycle with a higher number of sunspots.
However, scientists have identified that the last two years on the Sun have been part of this active phase of the solar cycle, due to the consistently high number of sunspots during this period. In August, NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center counted 337 sunspots on Aug. 8.
NOAA and NASA jointly announced on Tuesday that the peak had arrived. However, the existing space weather will continue because the Solar Maximum does not have an exact beginning and end. According to scientists with both agencies, this period of activity could continue into the next year.
Visible light images from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory highlight the appearance of the Sun at solar minimum (left, Dec. 2019) versus solar maximum (right, August 2024). During solar minimum, the Sun is often spotless. Sunspots are associated with solar activity, and are used to track solar cycle progress.
"This announcement doesn’t mean that this is the peak of solar activity we’ll see this solar cycle," said Elsayed Talaat, director of space weather operations at NOAA. "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."
Solar flares have produced strong to even extreme geomagnetic storms this year, including in May when Northern lights appeared as far South as Florida during the strongest geomagnetic storm in 20 years. NASA said the display of auroras is possibly the strongest on record in 500 years.
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of an X9.0 solar flare – as seen in the bright flash in the center – on Oct. 03, 2024. The image shows a blend of 171 Angstrom, and 131 Angstrom light, subsets of extreme ultraviolet light.
(NASA/SDO)
On Oct. 3, the strongest solar flare of Solar Cycle 25 happened when a region of sunspots sent an X9.0 flare blasting out from the Sun. X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength.
This past week, a severe geomagnetic storm produced Northern Lights even down in the Southeast.
A view of the Northern lights from Berkshire, New York taken on Oct. 10, 2024 during a severe (G4) geomagnetic storm.
(FOX Weather)