The sun sure has woken up this week, unleashing a powerful X-class solar flare on Jan. 18 that hurled a colossal, fast-moving coronal mass ejection (CME) directly toward Earth. That CME has now arrived, triggering severe (G4) geomagnetic storm conditions far earlier than initially forecast.

An X-class solar flare has produced an Earth-directed coronal mass ejection, increasing solar activity and raising the likelihood of geomagnetic impacts within 24 hours.

One way to track the solar cycle is by counting the number of sunspots, which are dark, cooler patches on the Sun’s surface. Such cycles have been tracked by astronomers since Galileo first observed sunspots in the 1600s.

How can astronomers observe and study the Sun’s activity in the most efficient way despite the Sun and Earth orbiting each other at different speeds? | Space

MOSCOW, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Solar activity is currently at its peak and is expected to remain at a high level for the next two to three years, a Russian expert said on Tuesday.

Climate data in a report published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Climate.gov website found that the sun’s solar activity, including overall brightness and sunspot cycles, do not have significant affect on global warming.

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. These processes follow the solar cycle, an 11-year cycle of increasing and decreasing activity on the sun when the sun's magnetic field exhibits a full ...