Solar Maximum

Our closest star, the sun, has an 11 year cycle in which it goes through a minimum and maximum period of activity. It is currently at solar maximum which means there are more sunspots, more solar flares and more coronal mass ejections. When the charged particles, released during one of these flares, hits the Earth’s magnetic field, they produce stunning auroral displays. On October 7, the sun released a major coronal mass ejection and it hits us head on on October 10. It was the best light show I had ever seen and there were reports of aurora seen at latitudes where they are just not seen in both the northern and southern hemispheres. These events are extremely rare but it could happen again as we get to the peak of solar maximum, expected sometime in 2025. I shot this image of the sun using a hydrogen alpha solar telescope on October 2, 2024 and added a blue dot representing the true size of the earth compared to the sun.