#solar activity

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a solar flare, seen as the bright flash toward the upper middle on Feb. 4, 2026. The image shows extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares and which is colorized in blue and red.

"Solar activity has a well-known impact on the flux of low-energy cosmic rays that strike Earth. Now researchers have detected a solar-storm-induced change in the flux of higher-energy cosmic rays [1]. Using data from a large detector array in China, the team measured a decrease—over several hours—in cosmic-ray showers coming from a particular direction in the sky. The timing of this anisotropy suggests that cosmic rays heading into the outward-moving storm were preferentially scattered by the storm’s magnetic fields. The results could lead to a new way to study the magnetic structures in solar storms.

("X. Ye/Purple Mountain Observatory; W. Mitthumsiri/Mahidol University - Cosmic shield. A bubble of plasma erupts from the Sun’s surface during a coronal mass ejection. Magnetic fields associated with this plasma can alter the paths of cosmic rays. For TeV cosmic rays, the deflection appears to be strongest for those moving toward the Sun (light and dark blue trajectories). This directional dependence can explain an anisotropy observed by the LHAASO team.")

The solar wind—the spray of charged particles continually emitted by the Sun—partially shields Earth and other planets from cosmic rays that stream into the Solar System from all directions. The wind contains magnetic fields that help deflect the high-energy protons and other particles that make up the cosmic rays. In 2024, when the wind was at the peak in its 11-year cycle, the flux of cosmic rays was down by about 0.5% compared to the average.

Such variation can also occur over daylong timescales when a solar storm passes over Earth. This spike in solar activity is often associated with a coronal mass ejection (CME)—a large bubble of plasma exploding from the Sun’s surface. In this plasma, magnetic field lines braided like the threads of a rope can trap cosmic rays, reducing the flux that reaches Earth by roughly 1%. This so-called Forbush decrease has been documented for relatively low-energy cosmic rays in the 100 MeV to 100 GeV range. At higher energies, cosmic rays should fly through the magnetic ropes, so their flux at Earth is expected to remain unaffected, says David Ruffolo of Mahidol University in Thailand."

watch the full NASA YouTube video: X

The Sun is stirring from its latest slumber.

As sunspots and flares bubble from the Sun’s surface, representatives from NASA, NOAA, and the Solar Cycle Prediction Panel announced that the Sun has reached its solar maximum period.

The solar cycle is a natural cycle the Sun goes through as it transitions between low and high magnetic activity and back again. 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 goes from calm to an active and stormy state.

During this most active part of the cycle (solar maximum), the Sun shows many more sunspots and often unleashes immense explosions of light, energy, and solar radiation, creating "space weather" which affects satellites and astronauts in space, as well as communications systems and power grids down here on Earth.

NASA and NOAA track sunspots to determine and predict the progress of the solar cycle - and ultimately solar activity. Sunspots are cooler regions on the Sun caused by a concentration of magnetic field lines. They're the visible component of active regions, areas of intense and complex magnetic fields on the Sun and the source of solar eruptions.

“During solar maximum, the number of sunspots, and therefore the amount of solar activity, increases,” says Jamie Favors of the NASA Space Weather Program. “This increase in activity provides an exciting opportunity to learn about our closest star, but also causes real effects at Earth and throughout our solar system.”

Solar activity has led to increased auroral activity and impacts on satellites and electronic infrastructure this year. During 2024, barrages of huge solar flares and coronal mass ejections launched clouds of charged particles toward Earth, creating the strongest geomagnetic storms we've experienced in decades, and possibly the strongest auroras visible in the past 500 years.

This is a great time to watch the Sun (via the internet or a properly filtered telescope only - never view the Sun without certified safe solar filters made for your instrument) and catch some auroras. Even here at Ad Astra headquarters in Kansas (which almost never sees an aurora), we've been able to enjoy a few nighttime light shows this year!

⚠️ Магнітна буря накриє Україну вже завтра!

За даними Meteoagent, 27 липня очікується магнітна буря рівня G1 (K-індекс 5). Це перший рівень геомагнітних збурень, який може вплинути на самопочуття чутливих людей.

🧠 У зоні ризику:

• метеозалежні

• літні люди

• ті, хто має серцево-судинні або хронічні захворювання

📌 Рекомендації лікарів:

• пийте більше води

• уникайте стресів і перенавантаження

• за можливості, більше відпочивайте

The Schumann Resonance is often described as the heartbeat of the Earth. It is named after physicist Winfried Otto Schumann, who predicted its existence in 1952. The Schumann Resonance is basically a set of electromagnetic waves that circle around the Earth outside the atmosphere, between the Earth's surface, and through the ionosphere. *the ionosphere is an atmospheric layer that contains charged particles* These waves resonate at specific frequencies, the main one being 7.83 Hz.

So why does this happen? Think of the space between the Earth's surface and the ionosphere as a drum. Lightning strikes, of which there are thousands happening all over the world at any moment, act like drumsticks, hitting the drum and creating sound. But instead of sound, these strikes create electromagnetic waves that bounce between the Earth and the ionosphere, creating the Schumann Resonance.