Northern Lights Alert: Solar Activity Surges To Strongest For 23 Years

Jamie Carter
Senior Contributor



Aurora borealis, or northern lights, shine in the sky on August 12, 2024 in Mohe, Heilongjiang ... via Getty Images


Once-rare displays of Northern Lights at southerly latitudes look set to continue for the foreseeable future as scientists confirmed that August saw the sun at its most active for 23 years.

The average number of sunspots reached 215.5 in August, according to the Solar Influences Data Analysis Center at the Royal Observatory in Belgium. It’s the highest number since Sept.-Dec. 2001, according to SpaceWeather.com. July's total was 196.5. Last month, NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center issued a preliminary statement that solar activity is at its highest since March 2001.

Magnetic Activity
The sun's magnetic activity—the origin of the solar wind and the resulting bright aurora displays—is calculated daily by counting sunspots on its surface. Sunspots are magnetic disturbances on the sun’s surface that can be as big as Earth.

The number of sunspots on any day indicates how magnetically active the sun is. They've been counted every day since 1610, which has helped astronomers calculate that the sun's magnetic activity waxes and wanes through an 11-year solar cycle. The sun is cirrently closing in on "solar maximum"—the peak of that cycle.

More:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2024/09/05/northern-lights-alert-solar-activity-surges-to-strongest-for-23-years/