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FP trendSeptember 17, 2020 5:16:13 PM IST
It takes eleven years for the sun to complete one solar cycle before beginning a new one. The sun has started a new solar cycle, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a period of space weather that can have far-reaching implications for technology on Earth, as well as for the safety of astronauts.
According to NASA, the solar minimum (the period between two cycles when the sun is the least active) occurred in December 2019, marking the start of a new solar cycle. Experts from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have named the event solar cycle 25.
Scientists use sunspots as markers to track the progress of the solar cycle. According to experts, dark spots on the Sun’s surface are associated with solar activity as giant explosions that can emit solar light, energy and material into space.
Lika Guhathakurta, a solar scientist in the Division of Heliophysics at NASA Headquarters in Washington, stated that as Earth emerges from solar minimum and approaches the maximum of Cycle 25, it is important to remember that solar activity never stops.
This image combines a photograph of La Silla in visible light, with ultraviolet data from NASA’s SOHO spacecraft instruments and four filters from the Solar Dynamics Observatory instruments. Image: ESO
With solar minimum now over, scientists expect the Sun’s activity to increase toward the next predicted maximum in July 2021. Doug Biesecker, solar panel and physicist co-chair at NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) in Boulder Colorado, said Solar Cycle 25 is likely to be as strong as its predecessor, which was a below-average cycle, but it has its risks.
Biesecker said that just because the solar cycle is below average doesn’t mean there is no risk of extreme space weather.
Changes in the solar climate can have broad implications. Astronauts who are not shielded by Earth’s magnetic field can be hit by dangerous amounts of radiation and can also cause many problems for radio communication technologies on the ground.
Experts are of the opinion that the new cycle should offer the opportunity to plan for the expected changes in the coming years. Jake Bleacher, chief scientist for NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate at the agency’s headquarters, said: “There is no bad weather, just bad preparation,” adding: “Space weather is what it is, our job is to prepare. “
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