When the sun rises Radio-Canada.ca

In 2024, the Sun will be active

Bob Lemon is an expert on the sun's mood at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. I am interested in magnetic fields.

The solar cycle is punctuated by an event: the north-south magnetic exchange.

Reversing the magnetic poles is the basic procedure, and this is what causes the change in solar activity. It's almost like a fever or illness. Solar flares are the symptoms, and the magnetic field is the virus.

We are currently in this heightened period, where the possibility of explosions is increasing. This will happen at the end of this yearsays Bob Lemon.

According to Bob Lemmon's model, this cycle is likely to be more active than previous cycles. I expect to see more fireworks.

Robin Fiore confirms that the cycle we are experiencing appears to be more active than previous cycles. So the impact on infrastructure will be greaterspecify.

In February, a space meteorologist observed several intense solar flares. For a week we had escapes almost every day. We were lucky, because it came from behind the Sun, so it was not pointed at Earth.

At the University of Saskatchewan, Katherine McWilliams' team has also observed these disturbances. On February 9, a storm blocked all antenna signals.

Radio communications have been severely disrupted. This type of event is very important because people in northern Canada are far apart from each other. Therefore, they rely a lot on wireless communications“, explains Catherine McWilliams.

Understanding the risks and adapting our systems helps ensure the protection of our communications systems, she adds. Big challenge.

When we try to understand how aurora borealis arise, our laboratory is the size of the solar system. Therefore, no group or country can understand the entire process on its ownsays Catherine McWilliams.

There are still many mysteries to be revealed so that we can predict the state of this star that is necessary for life on Earth.

Day after day, with their eyes and ears glued to the sky, these scientists continue this monumental endeavor.

Images of the Sun were taken by NASA.