Historic space weather may help us understand what’s coming next, according to new research by the University of Warwick.
Professor Sandra Chapman, from Warwick’s Centre for Fusion, Space and Astrophysics, led a project which charted the space weather in previous solar cycles across the last half century, and discovered an underlying repeatable pattern in how space weather activity changes with the solar cycle.
The sun goes through solar cycles around every eleven years, during which time the number of sunspots increases to the maximum point (the ‘solar maximum’). More solar activity means more solar flares, which in turn can mean more extreme space weather at earth.
This breakthrough will allow better understanding and planning for space weather, and for any future threats it may pose to the Earth.
Space weather can disrupt electronics, aviation and satellite systems and communications – this depends on solar activity, but as this is different for each solar cycle, the overall likelihood of space weather events can be difficult to forecast.
Read more at University of Warwick
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