The Sun goes through activity cycles that are roughly 11 Earth…

The Sun goes through activity cycles that are roughly 11 Earth…

The Sun goes through activity cycles that are roughly 11 Earth years long. During these cycles, sunspot numbers increase and decrease and their positions change on the surface of the sun. We’re nearing the end of one cycle now – the number of sunspots has been decreasing in recent years. However, during this stage with fewer sunspots, the sun tends to send out its largest Coronal Mass Ejections – huge eruptions of charged particles that, when they interact with Earth’s Atmosphere, trigger auroras. Here is video of a recent Aurora outbreak filmed over Norway.