# @science on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DO8d6qED-FX
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/34929149-science-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/623ae05eb9.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-09-23T12:30:15.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Science 🧬 (@science) — https://gondola.cc/science

## Caption

The Sun was supposed to be entering a quiet phase, dimming into a long solar minimum. Instead, it has startled scientists by revving up, breaking predictions and unleashing some of the strongest storms in decades. A new NASA study shows that since about 2008, the Sun’s output of solar wind, magnetic fields, and energetic particles has steadily climbed, overturning expectations of a subdued star.⁠
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The data are clear. Solar-wind speed has risen by 6%, density by 26%, temperature by 29%, and thermal pressure by 45%. Energy flux is up 40%, while the strength of the interplanetary magnetic field has grown by more than 30%. These shifts mean the Sun is not drifting into a deep minimum like the Maunder or Dalton periods of centuries past, but instead is “slowly waking up,” as NASA’s Jamie Jasinski puts it.⁠
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That awakening is already evident. Solar Cycle 25 has produced the highest sunspot counts in 20 years and unleashed record numbers of X-class flares, the most powerful category. In 2024, one extreme geomagnetic storm triggered dazzling auroras visible across continents but also caused more than $500 million in damages. These events highlight how deeply modern technology, satellites, navigation systems, and power grids, is tied to the Sun’s moods.⁠
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Why this reversal happened remains uncertain. Scientists understand the familiar 11-year sunspot cycle and the broader 22-year Hale cycle, but longer fluctuations remain mysterious. To probe deeper, NASA and NOAA are launching new missions: IMAP to study the solar wind, the Carruthers Geocorona Observatory to monitor Earth’s outer atmosphere, and SWFO-L1 to provide real-time storm tracking. Together, these spacecraft aim to transform our ability to predict, and prepare for, the tempests of our restless star.⁠
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#science #space #sun #solarstorm #spaceweather #nasa #solarcycle #astronomy #geomagneticstorm #aurora⁠
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Source: 10.3847/2041-8213/adf3a6

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## Tags

astronomy, sun, solarcycle, science, nasa, space, aurora, solarstorm, spaceweather, geomagneticstorm

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