Every 10 or 12 years it beats, and it beats hard. Space weather triggered by the activity on the Sun follows an 11-year-long cycle of solar minimums and solar maximums. The sun is heading toward solar minimum now. NASA dropped this bombshell announcement in a little-heralded news release coyly entitled “Solar Activity Forecast for Next Decade Favorable for Exploration.” In other words, NASA tried to make it sound like good news. Solar cycle 25 is the current, and 25th solar cycle since 1755, when extensive recording of solar sunspot activity began. Learn more about sunspots here. This is known as the solar cycle and is measured by the number of sunspots visible on the sun. First, understand that the Sun normally follows sunspot cycles of roughly 11 years. “We expect Solar Cycle 25 will be very similar to Cycle 24: another fairly weak maximum, preceded by a long, deep During solar activity maximum years, most auroral storms start south of Fairbanks. Think of sunspots as storms on the Sun. Sunspot counts were relatively high in 2014, and now they are sliding toward a low point expected in 2019-2020. The more sunspots, the more solar flare energy is being released into space which means more aurora activity! Solar Forecast: Solar activity is expected to be low with a chance for M-class flares on days one, two, and three (08 Dec, 09 Dec, 10 Dec). Q: Where are we now on the solar cycle? Its most likely start date is December 2019, but as this is based on a 13-month running mean of sunspot numbers, this cannot be certified until late 2020. forecast the next solar cycle. Solar activity simply changes form. On June 12, 2019 NASA announced: Solar Activity Forecast for Next Decade Favorable for Exploration “The forecast for the next solar cycle says it will be the weakest of the last 200 years. The sun has a heartbeat. Solar Cycle 25 Prediction Panel experts said Solar Cycle 25 may have a slow start, but is anticipated to peak with solar maximum occurring between 2023 and 2026, and a … Solar Cycle. The cycle starts out hot with a “solar maximum” littered with solar storms and sunspots; then the temperature cools and we enter a “solar minimum” with a decrease in sunspots. Short Term and Long Term Aurora Forecasts as … Although trees make good foreground in auroral photographs, too many of them can limit the full experience of the aurora. The maximum of this next cycle—measured in terms of sunspot number, a standard measure of solar activity level—could be 30 to 50% lower than the most recent one. Producing Aurora Forecasts for Iceland based on Space and Earth weather predictions, including Moonlight and Weather Warnings. Geomagnetic Forecast: The geomagnetic field is expected to be at quiet to minor storm levels on day one (08 Dec), quiet to active levels on day two (09 Dec) and quiet levels on day three (10 Dec). While intense activity such as sunspots and solar flares subside during solar minimum, that doesn’t mean the sun becomes dull. Available in a variety of formats ranging from detailed technical predictions to simple information in laymen's terms. According to NASA, the Sun is now approaching its next cycle, Solar Cycle 25… And it’s going to be the weakest it will experience in 200 years. During years of minimum solar activity, auroral storms start north of Fairbanks and occur in the midnight hours. NASA predicts weakest solar activity in 200 years: and next solar maximum for 2015. If the panel is correct, already-low sunspot counts will reach a nadir sometime between July 2019 and Sept 2020, followed by a slow recovery toward a new Solar Maximum in 2023-2026.