A scientist from Wroclaw has made the first observation of a new solar cycle

A scientist from Wroclaw has made the first observation of the new solar cycle

A Polish astronomer has become the first to observe a very small spot on the Sun’s surface visible for only a dozen hours or so. However, its appearance marks the beginning of a new cycle of solar activity.

A very small spot on the Sun was the first in the world to be spotted by Dr. Tomasz Mrozek of the Department of Solar Physics of the Space Research Center of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the University of Wroclaw. But it was the accompanying area of magnetic activity in the spot that made it clear that we were dealing with the beginning of 25. solar cycle. In fact, this magnetic field had the opposite pole systemow w w poroIn relation to the polarization of the previous solar activity cycle.

– This is a very, very small spot in the area, ktorym magnetic field has such a characteristic pattern clearly showing that it is a spot of a new cycle of activity. I was surprised that no one had written about this yet. This spot has probably been on the Sun for literally hours – Mrozek said in an interview with Radio Wroclaw.

As Dr. Mrozek admitted, he made the discovery over his morning coffee. – I was watching the Sun out of curiosity to see if something was going on there – explained the researcher. The near real-time observations are provided by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO, Solar Dynamics Observatory) satellite, whichory studies the dynamics of solar activity. It was this data that Mrozek was using when he saw the small spot on April 9.

– It turned out that in the southern poThe globe has a very small spot. I quickly informed my colleagues about thisoin the post – Mrozek added on the air of Radio Wroclaw

Passing 24. The solar activity cycle was a weak cycle like we haven’t seen in 100 years. It covered the years 2009-2017. This period of quiet sunshine has prompted scientists tooin to speculate whether a period of weak solar activity awaits us in the future. Such a period was observed in the second half of the 17th century. Extremely harsh winters were recorded at the time, as the Sun affects the Earth’s climate, but to what extent this is happening is currently under study. In turn, the high activity of our star threatens power grids and the entire space and ground infrastructure.

The graphic shows the location of the appearance of a small spot marked with a red rectangle. The right column is the distribution of the magnetic field in the solar photosphere, and the left column is an image in the visible light range. The bottom row is a close-up of the site marked with a red rectangle. Photo. CBK PAN.

Solar activity cycle averages 11 years. During this time in the Sun’s atmosphere there are changes in the number and size of sunspots or the intensity of radiation. The maximum activity of our star reaches 3 to 5 years after the start of a new cycle. Over the next few years, activity declines until the next cycle begins.

The first complete cycle based on archival data was described by Swiss astronomer Rudolf Wolf in 1755–1766. It was the number 1 solar activity cycle.

Sourceobackground: CBK PAN, Radio Wroclaw, fot. David Chenette, Joseph B. Gurman, Loren W. Acton/ NASA/ ISAS. The title photo shows a solar cycle assembled from 10 photographs taken between August 30, 1991. a September 6, 2001.

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