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Sunspot Activity Will Peak Next Year
posted: 12:34 pm ET
15 October 1999
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A peak in sunspot activity is expected next year but a NASA scientist Thursday said that it may not be as intense as originallA peak in sunspot activity is expected next year, but a NASA scientist Thursday said that it may not be as intense as originally expected. "Our predictions have consistently targeted 2000 as the beginning of solar maximum," said David Hathaway, a solar physicist at the Marshall Space Flight Center. "But the latest numbers suggest that the peak sunspot count in 2000 will be a bit lower than expected." The sun is approaching the maximum of its 11-year sunspot cycle. And as sunspot numbers increase, coronal mass ejections and solar wind disturbances will trigger more and more geomagnetic storms. In some cases these disturbances can cause electric currents in the earth and oceans that interfere with electric power transmission. The peak is scheduled to occur in the middle of next year. According to the space science division of the Marshall Space Flight Center: The extra ultraviolet (UV) and X-ray radiation created by magnetic fields around sunspots also cause the Earth's atmosphere to heat up and expand. This creates added drag in the area where low-earth orbit satellites and the space shuttle orbit. Solar flares and energetic particle events further complicate matters by interrupting satellite and short-wave radio communications. It's not all bad news. According to the Marshall Space Flight Center, the increased levels of solar activity will likely trigger dazzling auroral displays at mid-latitudes. Sky watchers in the continental U.S. will be treated to sights normally reserved for residents of higher latitudes. Another piece of good news is that increased atmospheric drag at solar maximum acts as a scavenger and helps scrub space debris from low-Earth orbit.
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