Sun’s Magnetic Field to Flip

The peak of the sun’s solar cycle, which runs about 11-years long, is about to hit. That means that the sun’s magnetic field is about to flip, completely reversing its field in about three to four months.

This solar event only happens once during the 11-year cycle, and it signals what solar physicists call the Solar Maximum, which is the period of peak activity of our nearest star. “It looks like we’re no more than three to four months away from a complete field reversal,” said solar physicist Todd Hoeksema of Stanford University to NASA Science. “The change will have ripple effects throughout the solar system.”