Why the total solar eclipse in April could be particularly dramatic. This year's solar eclipse comes at a time when the sun will be particularly active - more active than it has been in two decades.
The active Sun will look very spiky, like a "very irritable little hedgehog," said solar physicist Scott McIntosh. During a solar maximum, “all bets are off,” says Mark Miesch, a researcher at the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center. Watch out for gnarly magnetic loops. A strong solar wind heading toward Earth can disrupt our satellite communications and affect our magnetosphere.