Sun’s Magnetic Field About To Flip (Video)

August 5, 2013: Something big is about to happen on the sun. According to measurements from NASA-supported observatories, the sun’s vast magnetic field is about to flip. Approximately every 11 years, the sun’s magnetic field does a complete reversal of its poles. According to NASA, our sun’s magnetic field is about to flip and will do so within the next 3 to 4 months. What does that mean for us on the planet Earth and throughout the solar system? According to NASA, there will be ‘ripple effects’ throughout the solar system. An interesting video report from ScienceAtNASA at the bottom of the story. “It looks like we’re no more than 3 to 4 months away from a complete field reversal,” says solar physicist Todd Hoeksema of Stanford University. “This change will have ripple effects throughout the solar system.

The sun’s magnetic field changes polarity approximately every 11 years. It happens at the peak of each solar cycle as the sun’s inner magnetic dynamo re-organizes itself. The coming reversal will mark the midpoint of Solar Cycle 24. Half of ‘Solar Max’ will be behind us, with half yet to come.

A reversal of the sun’s magnetic field is, literally, a big event. The domain of the sun’s magnetic influence (also known as the “heliosphere”) extends billions of kilometers beyond Pluto. Changes to the field’s polarity ripple all the way out to the Voyager probes, on the doorstep of interstellar space.


So, will we be able to find out once this ‘big event’ happens? In fact, once this event does occur, promises have been made to share this ‘big news’ with the public.

“The sun’s north pole has already changed sign, while the south pole is racing to catch up,” says Scherrer. “Soon, however, both poles will be reversed, and the second half of Solar Max will be underway.”

When that happens, Hoeksema and Scherrer will share the news with their colleagues and the public.

August 6, 2013 – SPACE – Something big is about to happen on the sun. According to measurements from NASA-supported observatories, the sun’s vast magnetic field is about to flip. “It looks like we’re no more than 3 to 4 months away from a complete field reversal,” says solar physicist Todd Hoeksema of Stanford University. “This change will have ripple effects throughout the solar system.” The sun’s magnetic field changes polarity approximately every 11 years. It happens at the peak of each solar cycle as the sun’s inner magnetic dynamo re-organizes itself. The coming reversal will mark the midpoint of Solar Cycle 24. Half of ‘Solar Max’ will be behind us, with half yet to come. Hoeksema is the director of Stanford’s Wilcox Solar Observatory, one of the few observatories in the world that monitor the sun’s polar magnetic fields. The poles are a herald of change.

Just as Earth scientists watch our planet’s polar regions for signs of climate change, solar physicists do the same thing for the sun. Magnetograms at Wilcox have been tracking the sun’s polar magnetism since 1976, and they have recorded three grand reversals—with a fourth in the offing. Solar physicist Phil Scherrer, also at Stanford, describes what happens: “The sun’s polar magnetic fields weaken, go to zero, and then emerge again with the opposite polarity. This is a regular part of the solar cycle.” A reversal of the sun’s magnetic field is, literally, a big event. The domain of the sun’s magnetic influence (also known as the “heliosphere”) extends billions of kilometers beyond Pluto. Changes to the field’s polarity ripple all the way out to the Voyager probes, on the doorstep of interstellar space. When solar physicists talk about solar field reversals, their conversation often centers on the “current sheet.” The current sheet is a sprawling surface jutting outward from the sun’s equator where the sun’s slowly-rotating magnetic field induces an electrical current. The current itself is small, only one ten-billionth of an amp per square meter (0.0000000001 amps/m2), but there’s a lot of it: the amperage flows through a region 10,000 km thick and billions of kilometers wide. Electrically speaking, the entire heliosphere is organized around this enormous sheet. During field reversals, the current sheet becomes very wavy. Scherrer likens the undulations to the seams on a baseball. As Earth orbits the sun, we dip in and out of the current sheet. Transitions from one side to another can stir up stormy space weather around our planet. -NASA

Sun dial-down: Looming weak solar max may herald frosty times

August 06, 2013

The current solar activity cycle, possibly the weakest in 100 years, is approaching its maximum. This may signal a future low period for the sun, probably not unlike the one that caused the so-called Little Ice Age from the mid-16th to mid-19th centuries.

Solar activity can be easily monitored by the number of sun spots. Regular recordings of the phenomenon have been available since the middle of the 18th century, with the star’s activity reaching peaks about every 11 years. The current Solar Cycle 24, is about to pass its prime in a matter of months, according to observations.

One indicator of the upcoming change is the reduction of solar magnetic activity. Every cycle peak the sun’s magnetic field flips polarity due to reorganization of its inner dynamo.

"The sun's north pole has already changed sign, while the south pole is racing to catch up," says Phil Scherrer, solar physicist at Stanford's Wilcox Solar Observatory, which has been monitoring the sun's polar magnetic fields since 1976.

"Soon, however, both poles will be reversed, and the second half of Solar Max will be underway," he added as cited by NASA Science.

read on: http://rt.com/news/solar-activity-cycle-maximum-114/

Love Always
mudra

this happens every 11 years - 22 years (in a complete cycle)

Don't let anyone alarm you this is a regular part of the solar cycle and happens about every 11 years.

Solar physicist Phil Scherrer, at Stanford, describes what happens:

"The sun's polar magnetic fields weaken, go to zero, and then emerge again with the opposite polarity.
This is a regular part of the solar cycle."

Not alarmed by the sun's magnetic polarity flip Susan. More concerned about planetary alignment next week and possibility of mega quake in Pacific Northwest.

Carol wrote:Not alarmed by the sun's magnetic polarity flip Susan. More concerned about planetary alignment next week and possibility of mega quake in Pacific Northwest.

My intuition is telling me that it is going to be a very cold winter (even before Mudra did her recent posting)...however I'm not getting any signs or intuitional feelings about this upcoming mega quake, etc. so maybe the timeline is veering on an individual basis away from it. We can only hope.
Other then that I hear that the Pleidians have a rather nice planet with all their daily needs met...

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