The Sun is on the verge of changing its magnetic poles, which will be the beginning of a decrease in activity in the star’s 11-year cycle. This was reported by portal Space.com quotes experts in solar physics.
“As the Sun approaches its maximum, the Sun’s magnetic field becomes more complex and there is no clear division into north and south poles.
When the star’s peak activity passes, the Sun regains its bipolarity. The upcoming change will cause the magnetic orientation of our star to be the same as that of the Earth, whose magnetic field is directed southward in the Northern Hemisphere,” Boulder explained to reporters.
Magnetic drift is caused by sunspots, which are areas where solar flares and coronal mass ejections occur. Because sunspots occur near the equator, they will have a magnetic orientation consistent with the old magnetic field, while their poles will point in the opposite direction. This pattern, known as Hale’s law, was discovered by astronomer George Hale in 1909.
The complete turnaround process usually takes one to two years, but sometimes it can take five years, as was the case in 2014-2019.
Scientists stated that a change in the Sun’s magnetic field would help protect the Earth from galactic rays from space – high-energy subatomic particles that can harm vehicles and people in orbit around our planet.
Previously Sun collapsed The world is facing the strongest radiation storm since 2017.