The solar cycle as a research area focuses on the quasi-periodic (~11-year) modulation of solar magnetic activity and its physical drivers, modeling, and impacts. It encompasses the study of dynamo processes in the solar interior, emergence and evolution of magnetic flux, sunspot number variability, and associated phenomena such as flares and coronal mass ejections. Researchers investigate cycle prediction methods, long-term modulation (e.g., grand minima and maxima), and coupling between solar radiative, particulate, and magnetic outputs and the heliosphere, planetary space weather, and climate-relevant upper-atmospheric processes, using observations, theory, and magnetohydrodynamic simulations.
The sun is governed by a strict rhythm. The magnetic activity of the sun displays a cyclic variation, reaching a maximum approximately every eleven years. Two enormous plasma circulations, each in one solar hemisphere, set ...
Astronomy
Nov 5, 2025
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Scientists at the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) have uncovered the intricate magnetic heartbeat of a distant star remarkably similar to our own sun—but much younger and more active. This study, part of ...
Astronomy
Oct 10, 2025
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The sun has become increasingly active since 2008, a new NASA study shows. Solar activity is known to fluctuate in cycles of 11 years, but there are longer-term variations that can last decades. Case in point: Since the 1980s, ...
Astronomy
Sep 15, 2025
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Most places on Earth have seasons because our planet is on a tilt as it orbits the sun. But our star also has its own version of seasons that affect life on Earth—and new astronomical research is helping us better understand ...
Astronomy
Sep 10, 2025
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NASA has launched Surya, its new heliophysics artificial intelligence foundation model to empower solar scientists with tools to enhance research and space weather forecasting. Southwest Research Institute's Dr. Andrés Muñoz-Jaramillo ...
Planetary Sciences
Aug 26, 2025
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Solar Maximum 2025 is the expected peak of solar activity in Solar Cycle 25, characterized by heightened sunspots, solar flares, and coronal mass ejections. This peak is anticipated around mid to late 2025, coinciding with ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 7, 2025
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A trio of heliophysicists and satellite trackers at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and the Goddard Planetary Heliophysics Institute at the University of Maryland has found evidence showing that Starlink satellites reenter ...
On March 15, 2024, near the peak of the current solar cycle, the sun produced a solar flare and an accompanying coronal mass ejection (CME), a massive explosion of gas and magnetic energy that carries with it large amounts ...
Planetary Sciences
May 14, 2025
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A large team of researchers working on the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer Collaboration, which has been analyzing eleven years' worth of data from the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) aboard the International Space Station, ...
At the start of this new year, we look back at close-up pictures and solar flare data recorded by the ESA-led Solar Orbiter mission over the last three years. See and hear for yourself how the number of flares and their intensity ...
Astronomy
Jan 6, 2025
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