The Heliophysics Big Year

The Heliophysics Big Year is a global celebration of the Sun’s influence on Earth and the entire solar system. From Oct. 14, 2023, to Dec. 24, 2024, we are challenging you to participate in as many Sun-related activities as you can!

A little girl stands in front of a large projection of the Sun with her arms outstretched. Several other people stand behind her.

Solar Cycle & Solar Maximum

October 2024

The Sun is a powerful source of energy. From solar power to photosynthesis, it The solar cycle is a natural cycle the Sun goes through as it transitions between low and high magnetic activity. Roughly every 11 years, at the height of the solar cycle, the Sun’s magnetic poles flip — on Earth, that’d be like the North and South Poles swapping places every decade — and the Sun transitions from calm to an active and stormy state. Currently, the Sun is experiencing high levels of activity.

This month looks at how the solar cycle influences the solar system and how scientists track and try to predict its evolution.

Learn more about the Sun
On the left, an image of the Sun is labeled Solar Minimum. The Sun is golden and fairly uniform across the surface of the star. On the right, an image of the Sun is labeled Solar Maximum. There are many bright, active areas scattered across the star and cascading into the space around it.
Images from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory highlight the appearance of the Sun at solar minimum (left, Dec. 2019) versus solar maximum (right, April 2014). 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.
NASA

Solar Cycle & Solar Maximum

October 2024

Here are some activities and resources to learn about the solar cycle!
Listen and learn about the “Seasons of the Sun” from NASA’s Curious Universe podcast.
– Relive the previous solar cycle through 10 years of NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory imagery.
– Keep up with the latest happenings of the current solar cycle in NASA’s Solar Cycle 25 blog.
– Check out the Sun’s activity with NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory.
Learn more about how to track the solar cycle.

More Heliophysics Activities
The Sun, shown in gray. The Sun appears bare and smooth. A few small, dark spots are seen toward the middle of the star, with a few others toward either side. They are labeled with numbers.
The Sun, as seen by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. This wavelength shows sunspots, cooler regions on the Sun caused by a concentration of magnetic field lines. Scientists count sunspots to track the solar cycle
NASA/SDO

Solar Cycle & Solar Maximum

October 2024

Solar activity strongly influences conditions in space known as space weather. This can affect satellites and astronauts in space, as well as communications and navigation systems — such as radio and GPS — and power grids on Earth. When the Sun is most active, space weather events become more frequent. 

In May 2024, a barrage of large solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) launched clouds of charged particles and magnetic fields toward Earth, creating the strongest solar storm to reach Earth in two decades — and possibly one of the strongest displays of auroras on record in the past 500 years.

Learn More About How NASA Tracked This Storm
An image of the Sun shows a bright flash in the bottom right side where a solar flare erupts.
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured this image of an X5.8 solar flare peaking at 9:23 p.m. EDT on May 10, 2024. The image shows a subset of extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares.
NASA/SDO

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