Sun entered a new Solar Cycle

Scientists from NASA and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that the Sun has entered a new Solar Cycle. They described it as the Solar Cycle 25.

Daily Current Affairs Quiz 2020

Key-Points

Since the Sun’s surface is a very active space, electrically charged gases on its surface generate areas of powerful magnetic forces, which are called magnetic fields.

Since the gases on the Sun’s surface are constantly moving, these magnetic fields can get stretched, twisted and tangled creating motion on the surface, which is referred to as solar activity.

Solar activity varied with the stages of the solar cycle, which lasts on average for a period of 11 years. Solar cycles have implications for life and technology on Earth as well as astronauts in space.

Scientists track a solar cycle by using sunspots, which are the dark blotches on the Sun that are associated with solar activity. Sunspots are associated as the origins for giant explosions such as solar flares that can spew light, energy and solar material into space.

A Sunspot is an area on the Sun that appears dark on the surface and is relatively cooler than the surrounding parts. These spots, some as large as 50,000 km in diameter, are the visible markers of the Sun’s magnetic field, which forms a blanket that protects the solar system from harmful cosmic radiation.