Solar activity follows an 11-year cycle – here’s how it controls eruptions and solar flares

The Sun is a complex physical body. It generates incredible amounts of heat and a strong, often tangled, magnetic field.

By: Yeimy J. Rivera, Smithsonian Institution, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: May 20, 2026

Words: 1,308

Last Updated: 2 months ago

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By Yeimy J. Rivera, Smithsonian Institution

When you look up at the sky on a sunny day, the Sun might seem like a bright spot, unchanging in the sky. But the Sun is a complex, dynamic celestial body, wrapped in electrical currents and magnetic fields that constantly move and tangle as it rotates. At times the Sun’s surface is very active, casting out powerful bursts of plasma called coronal mass ejections, while at other times it …

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