Sun's Period of Peak Activity Is Smashing Expert Predictions, and Records

Peer at the Sun through a telescope (and, of course, a safety filter), and you'll likely see a smattering of dark freckles dotting the surface. These patches are called sunspots, and according to experts, they're particularly abundant this solar maximum—so abundant that they've broken a 23-year sunspot record. The Sun's impressive collection of sunspots implies that its period of peak activity, which likely began earlier this year, will be even livelier than originally thought.

A single solar cycle is roughly 11 years long, and toward the middle of that cycle lies a period of peak activity called solar maximum. During this months-long phase, the Sun's magnetic fields become unstable and flip, releasing a barrage of solar flares, sunspots, and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) into space. Sometimes these phenomena impact Earth, where we experience geomagnetic storms—sometimes resulting in colorful auroras—and radio blackouts.

Having ...