Solar Maximum Could Intensify Solar Storms Amid Solar Cycle 25: Solar Physicist Warns

Solar maximum, which is part of the current Solar Cycle 25, could already be ongoing and has the potential to intensify solar storms, a solar physicist warned as reported on Monday, March 4. Over the past year, scientists had predicted that the cycle's heightened phase to occur than earlier than expected. Previously, it was estimated that the stronger out of the two phases would occur in the year 2025.

Solar Physicist Warning

An expert solar physicist warned that the Sun may have already entered its most active stage or dangerous phase as part of its 11-year solar cycle, according to a report on Monday. This means that our Solar System's only star could release solar storms more frequently since the cycle started in December 2019. Even prior to the apparent ongoing solar maximum, previous solar storms have disrupted Earth's radio frequencies and satellite signals.

During a convention in 2019, an international panel predicted that the current Solar Cycle 25 will reach its peak or solar maximum from late 2024 to early 2025, the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) reported. Furthermore, the cycle was initially predicted to go down until the remainder of the 11-year phase, which will end in 2030.

What is a Solar Maximum?

The solar maximum is the middle period of the solar cycle or when the Sun has the highest number of sunspots, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). In contrast, the solar minimum is the beginning of the solar cycle or a period when the Sun has the least number of sunspots. As the cycle ends, the solar maximum fades back to the solar minimum to begin another 11-year phase.

NASA states that counting the number of sunspots is one way to monitor the solar cycle. The higher the number of sunspots is parallel to the frequency or intensity of solar storms, which includes solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Unlike weather events on Earth such as hurricanes and other types of storms, solar storm prediction is harder to predict in terms of the time and intensity of its emitted solar particles.

Space Weather Prediction

Space weather prediction is still a great challenge for scientists, and researchers are currently working on finding ways to increase the efficiency of forecast time before a solar storm reaches Earth, according to the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR). While scientists and space agencies base their predictions on solar activity, there has never been a successful 'long-term solar storm forecast' before.

However, current knowledge and technology allow scientists to make general space weather predictions; by using the solar maximum and solar minimum of a solar cycle as a basis. In addition, constant monitoring of the Sun's activity is also significant to make a significant space weather forecast. In recent years, space weather authorities recorded multiple geomagnetic storms and radio blackouts striking Earth following solar storms.