Solar Cycle

The Amazing Changing Sun

Solar maximum is considered to be the 2-3 year peak period when the sun’s activity is most complex and turbulent, and the space around Earth is most disturbed. Shown are the dramatic changes on the sun from solar minimum in 1996 to maximum in 2000. [SOHO / EIT]
Comparison: Solar Maximum from SOHO/EIT	Comparison: Solar Minimum from SOHO/EIT

What is a Solar Cycle? The sun’s seasonal cycle is 11 years long and is marked by disturbances to Earth known as coronal mass ejections and an increase in sunspots, from a maximum of 200 to a minimum of a few dozen per month. This animation shows sunspot migration over an 11-year solar cycle.