The sun's magnetic field is due to do a flip

[Still Waters]

Every 11 years or so, the two hemispheres of the sun reverse their polarity, creating a ripple effect that can be felt throughout the far reaches of the solar system. The sun is currently going through one of those flips in its cycle, scientists working at Stanford University's Wilcox Solar Observatory, which has monitored the sun's magnetic field since 1975, said.

http://www.nbcnews.c...flip-2D11577488

[ancient astronaut]

I thought this was supposed to be last year?

Edited November 15, 2013 by ancient astronaut

[pallidin]

Clearly, our Sun has a cyclic bipolar-disorder.

Edited November 15, 2013 by pallidin

[Zero Fox FK]

Just happen already

[Mentalcase]

Doesn't the Earth do the same thing roughly every 11 years? Why is this number so relevant?

[Aerosol]

The earth does this randomly about once every few hundred thousand to a few million years, with the latest one is estimated around 750.000 years ago.

[Waspie_Dwarf]

NASA | The Sun Reverses its Magnetic Poles

This visualization shows the position of the sun's magnetic fields from January 1997 to December 2013. The field lines swarm with activity: The magenta lines show where the sun's overall field is negative and the green lines show where it is positive. A region with more electrons is negative, the region with less is labeled positive. Additional gray lines represent areas of local magnetic variation.

The entire sun's magnetic polarity, flips approximately every 11 years -- though sometimes it takes quite a bit longer -- and defines what's known as the solar cycle. The visualization shows how in 1997, the sun shows the positive polarity on the top, and the negative polarity on the bottom. Over the next 12 years, each set of lines is seen to creep toward the opposite pole eventually showing a complete flip. By the end of the movie, each set of lines are working their way back to show a positive polarity on the top to complete the full 22 year magnetic solar cycle.

At the height of each magnetic flip, the sun goes through periods of more solar activity, during which there are more sunspots, and more eruptive events such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections, or CMEs. The point in time with the most sunspots is called solar maximum.

Credit: NASA/GSFC/PFSS

Source: NASA - Multimedia

[Waspie_Dwarf]

NASA | Alex Young Interview About Our Sun's Magnetic Flip

Alex Young is interviewed about the current solar cycle and what a magnetic flip means for the earth and NASA's study of magnetic fields.

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Source: NASA Goddard - Multimedia