Five decades of data revealed a star undergoing a pause in magnetic activity similar to what the Sun experienced almost 400 years ago.
solar cycle
Posted inNews
Accurate Simulation of Sun’s Rotation Might Illuminate Solar Cycle
Scientists have known for 400 years about a particularity in the way the Sun rotates. It took the world’s most powerful supercomputer to accurately simulate it.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
树木年轮显示了最新发现的极端太阳活动事件记录
对树木年轮物质的光谱分析表明，碳-14浓度在一年内急剧上升，这与发生在公元前5410年左右的极端太阳高能粒子事件相一致。
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Tree Rings Show Record of Newly Identified Extreme Solar Activity Event
Mass spectroscopy of tree ring material indicates a sharp, single-year rise in carbon-14 concentrations consistent with an extreme solar energetic particle event that occurred around 5410 BCE.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Hearing the Sun Tock
The appearance of sunspots—their number, duration, and location—suggests that the dynamics of the Sun’s outer layer is synchronized with an internal clock.
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Planetary Low Tide May Force Regular Sunspot Sync Ups
A regular alignment of the planets—no, it’s not pseudoscience—makes a strong enough tug to regulate the Sun’s 11- and 22-year cycles.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
The Thermosphere Responds to a Weaker Than Normal Solar Cycle
Infrared emissions from nitric oxide and carbon dioxide in Earth’s upper atmosphere, which are closely tied to incoming solar radiation, are drastically lower than in the previous solar cycle.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
First Multi-Decade Simulation of the Earth’s Radiation Belt
A new simulation of the Earth’s electron radiation belts captures large-scale variations over nearly three solar cycles, and replicates primary cyclical features and extreme behaviors.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Increasing Radiation Levels May Challenge Space Exploration
New research shows that solar radiation levels are growing 10% faster than previously believed and that the radiation environment in space will worsen with time.
Posted inNews
Largest Flare of Past 9 Years Erupts from Sun
A massive flare and blast of charged particles toward Earth may disrupt satellites and communications and push auroras toward lower latitudes through tomorrow, according to space weather experts.