The Sun has awakened and is heating up its magnetic motors: in fact, its new cycle has begun, which marks its activity in phases of 11 years.
This was announced by experts from NASA and the American Agency for the Atmosphere and the Oceans (Noaa), which also predict the gradual increase of phenomena related to solar activity, such as eruptions that hurl swarms of particles that can trigger magnetic storms on Earth, with impacts on satellites and electrical systems networks.
At the moment, however, the newly awakened Sun is still calm and it is expected that the increase in its activity may take place very gradually.
The solar cycles alternate between periods of maximum activity during which the number of sunspots increases, and periods of minimum activity, in which the number of sunspots is reduced.
According to experts, solar activity hit a low in December 2019, although it takes observations over many months to establish the precise moment.
There are at least two spies at the beginning of the new cycle, solar physicist Mauro Messerotti, from the Trieste Observatory of the National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF) and the University of Trieste, told ANSA.
"The first indicator - he explained - is a congruous number of spots with magnetic polarity reversed compared to the previous cycle, the second is the latitude at which the spots appear".
All the groups of spots that appeared in recent months had latitudes around 40 degrees North and South, and are a clear indication of the new cycle.
Generally, he added, with the start of the new cycle of solar activity, "flares increase, which are explosive releases of energy and plasma, and intense bursts of X-rays and ultraviolet rays associated with the flares, but they are currently 26 days. that the Sun is spotless and very calm. "
It is normal, he continued, that "there can be days and days without spots. The climb towards maximum activity usually lasts 6 years and is progressive, let's say that the Sun is now 'warming up the magnetic motors'".
Nasa and Noaa predict that the new cycle will be similar to the previous one, which was rather weak.
However, Messerotti concluded, "as also underlined by NASA and Noaa, this does not exclude the possibility that very intense activity phenomena may occur, albeit with less frequency".
