A new study has revealed that Sun too experiences seasonal changes like Earth, which can now help predict solar storms better.
The Sun undergoes a type of seasonal variability with its activity waxing and waning over the course of nearly two years, according to a new study by a team of researchers led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).
This behavior affects the peaks and valleys in the approximately 11-year solar cycle, sometimes amplifying and sometimes weakening the solar storms that can buffet Earth's atmosphere.
The quasi-annual variations appeared to be driven by changes in the bands of strong magnetic fields in each solar hemisphere. These bands also help shape the approximately 11-year solar cycle that was part of a longer cycle that lasts about 22 years.
The overlapping bands are fueled by the rotation of the Sun's deep interior, according to observations by the research team. As the bands move within the Sun's northern and southern hemispheres, activity rises to a peak over a period of about 11 months and then begins to wane.
The results can help lead to better predictions of massive geomagnetic storms in Earth's outer atmosphere that sometimes disrupt satellite operations, communications, power grids, and other technologies.
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The surges of magnetic fuel from the Sun's interior catastrophically destabilize the corona, the Sun's outermost atmosphere. They are the driving force behind the most destructive solar storms.
Scott McIntosh, director of NCAR's High Altitude Observatory, said that these surges or "whomps" as they have dubbed them, are responsible for over 95 percent of the large flares and CMEs, the ones that are really devastating.
The study is published in Nature Communication.