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. Every 11 years, the Sun's activity waxes and wanes as the sun's north and south magnetic poles swap places. During a solar maximum, “all bets are off”, said Mark Miesch, a researcher at the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center.