The sun is in its 25th solar cycle, a period of activity in its magnetic field that typically lasts about 11 years.
“The caveat is that although we can say that solar activity is increasing and, based on previous solar cycles, that we should expect to see more examples of space weather, like the aurora, reliably forecasting such events is extremely difficult more than a few days in advance,” Lt. Bryan Brasher, a project manager at the Space Weather Prediction Center, told NPR.
Auroras are visible when strong geomagnetic storms occur in Earth’s magnetosphere.
A CME projects plasma and pieces of the sun’s magnetic field into its atmosphere.
Stronger disturbances around the sun can pull Earth’s magnetic field away from the planet, and when the magnetic field snaps back, it causes Alfvén waves, which electrons sometimes cling to.
When those electrons reach Earth’s atmosphere, they mingle with nitrogen and oxygen molecules, causing visible light that manifests as the aurora borealis.
The original article contains 316 words, the summary contains 160 words. Saved 49%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The sun is in its 25th solar cycle, a period of activity in its magnetic field that typically lasts about 11 years.
“The caveat is that although we can say that solar activity is increasing and, based on previous solar cycles, that we should expect to see more examples of space weather, like the aurora, reliably forecasting such events is extremely difficult more than a few days in advance,” Lt. Bryan Brasher, a project manager at the Space Weather Prediction Center, told NPR.
Auroras are visible when strong geomagnetic storms occur in Earth’s magnetosphere.
A CME projects plasma and pieces of the sun’s magnetic field into its atmosphere.
Stronger disturbances around the sun can pull Earth’s magnetic field away from the planet, and when the magnetic field snaps back, it causes Alfvén waves, which electrons sometimes cling to.
When those electrons reach Earth’s atmosphere, they mingle with nitrogen and oxygen molecules, causing visible light that manifests as the aurora borealis.
The original article contains 316 words, the summary contains 160 words. Saved 49%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!