Last week, NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) issued a revised prediction that solar activity in the current Solar Cycle 25 will increase more quickly and peak at a higher level than that predicted by an expert panel in Dec 2019.
The updated prediction shows the cycle peak between Jan and Oct of 2024, with a max. sunspot number between 137 and 173.
Data for (11-year) previous solar cycles is also shown below. Most of them rose quickly.
Here is an interesting set of time-lapse video clips of the Sun taken by the NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). It is an eye-opening experience for those who have not seen such images of the Sun's surface brimming with solar flares and coronal loops.
The 30-minute video is beautifully crafted with soothing music by Lars Leonhard. Makes a nice backdrop for a quiet evening 🌞 😎
Image: World History Archive / Alamy Stock Photo (top); NASA/SDO, AIA, EVE, HMI science teams (bottom)
Cover Design: A. Beattie, A. Muñoz-Jaramillo, J.M. Vaquero