The solar cycle provides more than just increased sunspots, however. In the sun's atmosphere, or corona, bright active regions appear, which are rooted in the lower sunspots. Scientists track the active regions since they are often the origin of eruptions on the sun such as solar flares or coronal mass ejections.
The most recent solar minimum occurred in 2008, and the sun began to ramp up in January 2010, with an M-class flare (a flare that is 10 times less powerful than the largest flares, labeled X-class). The sun has continued to get more active, with the next solar maximum predicted for 2013.
The journey toward solar maximum is evident in current images of the sun, showing a marked difference from those of 2010, with bright active regions dotted around the star.", "items": [], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 347527, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11072/#media_group_347527", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "The picture on the left shows a calm sun from Oct. 2010. The right side, from Oct. 2012, shows a much more active and varied solar atmosphere as the sun moves closer to peak solar activity, or solar maximum, predicted for 2013. Both images were captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) observing light emitted from the 1 million degree plasma, which is a good temperature for observing the quiet corona.", "items": [ { "id": 314889, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 470980, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011072/October_CompariSUN_small.jpg", "filename": "October_CompariSUN_small.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "The picture on the left shows a calm sun from Oct. 2010. The right side, from Oct. 2012, shows a much more active and varied solar atmosphere as the sun moves closer to peak solar activity, or solar maximum, predicted for 2013. Both images were captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) observing light emitted from the 1 million degree plasma, which is a good temperature for observing the quiet corona.", "width": 2048, "height": 1024, "pixels": 2097152 } }, { "id": 314887, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 470979, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011072/October_CompariSUN.jpg", "filename": "October_CompariSUN.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "The picture on the left shows a calm sun from Oct. 2010. The right side, from Oct. 2012, shows a much more active and varied solar atmosphere as the sun moves closer to peak solar activity, or solar maximum, predicted for 2013. Both images were captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) observing light emitted from the 1 million degree plasma, which is a good temperature for observing the quiet corona.", "width": 4096, "height": 2048, "pixels": 8388608 } }, { "id": 314888, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 470978, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011072/October_CompariSUN1.jpg", "filename": "October_CompariSUN1.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "The picture on the left shows a calm sun from Oct. 2010. The right side, from Oct. 2012, shows a much more active and varied solar atmosphere as the sun moves closer to peak solar activity, or solar maximum, predicted for 2013. Both images were captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) observing light emitted from the 1 million degree plasma, which is a good temperature for observing the quiet corona.", "width": 4096, "height": 2048, "pixels": 8388608 } }, { "id": 314890, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 470982, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011072/October_CompariSUN1_web.jpg", "filename": "October_CompariSUN1_web.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "The picture on the left shows a calm sun from Oct. 2010. The right side, from Oct. 2012, shows a much more active and varied solar atmosphere as the sun moves closer to peak solar activity, or solar maximum, predicted for 2013. Both images were captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) observing light emitted from the 1 million degree plasma, which is a good temperature for observing the quiet corona.", "width": 320, "height": 160, "pixels": 51200 } }, { "id": 314891, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 470983, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011072/October_CompariSUN_thm.png", "filename": "October_CompariSUN_thm.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "The picture on the left shows a calm sun from Oct. 2010. The right side, from Oct. 2012, shows a much more active and varied solar atmosphere as the sun moves closer to peak solar activity, or solar maximum, predicted for 2013. Both images were captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) observing light emitted from the 1 million degree plasma, which is a good temperature for observing the quiet corona.", "width": 80, "height": 40, "pixels": 3200 } }, { "id": 314892, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 470984, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011072/October_CompariSUN1_web_searchweb.jpg", "filename": "October_CompariSUN1_web_searchweb.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "The picture on the left shows a calm sun from Oct. 2010. The right side, from Oct. 2012, shows a much more active and varied solar atmosphere as the sun moves closer to peak solar activity, or solar maximum, predicted for 2013. Both images were captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) observing light emitted from the 1 million degree plasma, which is a good temperature for observing the quiet corona.", "width": 320, "height": 180, "pixels": 57600 } }, { "id": 314886, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 470981, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011072/October_CompariSUN.tif", "filename": "October_CompariSUN.tif", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "The picture on the left shows a calm sun from Oct. 2010. The right side, from Oct. 2012, shows a much more active and varied solar atmosphere as the sun moves closer to peak solar activity, or solar maximum, predicted for 2013. Both images were captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) observing light emitted from the 1 million degree plasma, which is a good temperature for observing the quiet corona.", "width": 4096, "height": 2048, "pixels": 8388608 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 347528, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11072/#media_group_347528", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Comparison of solar activity as seen by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) in October 2010 and October 2012. The wavelength of these images is 171 angstroms.", "items": [ { "id": 314896, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 470988, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011072/October_CompariSUN_split_2k.jpg", "filename": "October_CompariSUN_split_2k.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Comparison of solar activity as seen by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) in October 2010 and October 2012. The wavelength of these images is 171 angstroms.", "width": 2048, "height": 2048, "pixels": 4194304 } }, { "id": 314897, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 470989, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011072/October_CompariSUN_split_1024.jpg", "filename": "October_CompariSUN_split_1024.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Comparison of solar activity as seen by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) in October 2010 and October 2012. The wavelength of these images is 171 angstroms.", "width": 1024, "height": 1024, "pixels": 1048576 } }, { "id": 314894, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 470986, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011072/October_CompariSUN_split.jpg", "filename": "October_CompariSUN_split.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Comparison of solar activity as seen by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) in October 2010 and October 2012. The wavelength of these images is 171 angstroms.", "width": 4096, "height": 4096, "pixels": 16777216 } }, { "id": 314895, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 470987, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011072/October_CompariSUN_Split1.jpg", "filename": "October_CompariSUN_Split1.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Comparison of solar activity as seen by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) in October 2010 and October 2012. The wavelength of these images is 171 angstroms.", "width": 4096, "height": 4096, "pixels": 16777216 } }, { "id": 314898, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 470990, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011072/October_CompariSUN_Split_web.jpg", "filename": "October_CompariSUN_Split_web.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Comparison of solar activity as seen by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) in October 2010 and October 2012. The wavelength of these images is 171 angstroms.", "width": 320, "height": 320, "pixels": 102400 } }, { "id": 314893, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 470985, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011072/October_CompariSUN_Split.tif", "filename": "October_CompariSUN_Split.tif", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Comparison of solar activity as seen by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) in October 2010 and October 2012. The wavelength of these images is 171 angstroms.", "width": 4096, "height": 4096, "pixels": 16777216 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 347529, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11072/#media_group_347529", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "The picture on the left shows a calm sun from Oct. 2010. The right side, from Oct. 2012, shows a much more active and varied solar atmosphere as the sun moves closer to peak solar activity, or solar maximum, predicted for 2013. Both images were captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) observing light emitted from the 1 million degree plasma, which is a good temperature for observing the quiet corona. No Labels.", "items": [ { "id": 314899, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 470991, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011072/October_CompariSUN_NoLabels.jpg", "filename": "October_CompariSUN_NoLabels.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "The picture on the left shows a calm sun from Oct. 2010. The right side, from Oct. 2012, shows a much more active and varied solar atmosphere as the sun moves closer to peak solar activity, or solar maximum, predicted for 2013. Both images were captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) observing light emitted from the 1 million degree plasma, which is a good temperature for observing the quiet corona. No Labels.", "width": 4096, "height": 2048, "pixels": 8388608 } }, { "id": 314901, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 470993, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011072/October_CompariSUN_NoLabels_web.jpg", "filename": "October_CompariSUN_NoLabels_web.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "The picture on the left shows a calm sun from Oct. 2010. The right side, from Oct. 2012, shows a much more active and varied solar atmosphere as the sun moves closer to peak solar activity, or solar maximum, predicted for 2013. Both images were captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) observing light emitted from the 1 million degree plasma, which is a good temperature for observing the quiet corona. No Labels.", "width": 320, "height": 160, "pixels": 51200 } }, { "id": 314900, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 470992, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011072/October_CompariSUN_NoLabels.tif", "filename": "October_CompariSUN_NoLabels.tif", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "The picture on the left shows a calm sun from Oct. 2010. The right side, from Oct. 2012, shows a much more active and varied solar atmosphere as the sun moves closer to peak solar activity, or solar maximum, predicted for 2013. Both images were captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) observing light emitted from the 1 million degree plasma, which is a good temperature for observing the quiet corona. No Labels.", "width": 4096, "height": 2048, "pixels": 8388608 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 347530, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11072/#media_group_347530", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "SDO October Comparison split image, No Labels.", "items": [ { "id": 314902, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 470994, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011072/October_CompariSUN_Split_NoLabels.jpg", "filename": "October_CompariSUN_Split_NoLabels.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "SDO October Comparison split image, No Labels.", "width": 4096, "height": 4096, "pixels": 16777216 } }, { "id": 314904, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 470996, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011072/October_CompariSUN_Split_NoLabels_web.jpg", "filename": "October_CompariSUN_Split_NoLabels_web.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "SDO October Comparison split image, No Labels.", "width": 320, "height": 320, "pixels": 102400 } }, { "id": 314903, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 470995, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011072/October_CompariSUN_Split_NoLabels.tif", "filename": "October_CompariSUN_Split_NoLabels.tif", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "SDO October Comparison split image, No Labels.", "width": 4096, "height": 4096, "pixels": 16777216 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 347531, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11072/#media_group_347531", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "SDO 171 angstrom image from Oct 6, 2010", "items": [ { "id": 314905, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 470997, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011072/20101006_153213_4096_0171.jpg", "filename": "20101006_153213_4096_0171.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "SDO 171 angstrom image from Oct 6, 2010", "width": 4096, "height": 4096, "pixels": 16777216 } }, { "id": 314906, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 470998, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011072/20101006_153213_4096_0171_web.jpg", "filename": "20101006_153213_4096_0171_web.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "SDO 171 angstrom image from Oct 6, 2010", "width": 320, "height": 320, "pixels": 102400 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 347532, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11072/#media_group_347532", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "SDO 171 angstrom image from October 20, 2012", "items": [ { "id": 314907, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 470999, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011072/20121020_133100_4096_0171.jpg", "filename": "20121020_133100_4096_0171.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "SDO 171 angstrom image from October 20, 2012", "width": 4096, "height": 4096, "pixels": 16777216 } }, { "id": 314908, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 471000, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011072/20121020_133100_4096_0171_web.jpg", "filename": "20121020_133100_4096_0171_web.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "SDO 171 angstrom image from October 20, 2012", "width": 320, "height": 320, "pixels": 102400 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 347533, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11072/#media_group_347533", "widget": "Basic text", "title": "For More Information", "caption": "", "description": "See [http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/solarmin-max.html](http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/solarmin-max.html)", "items": [], "extra_data": {} } ], "studio": "gms", "funding_sources": [ "NASA Heliophysics" ], "credits": [ { "role": "Animator", "people": [ { "name": "Scott Wiessinger", "employer": "USRA" } ] }, { "role": "Producer", "people": [ { "name": "Scott Wiessinger", "employer": "USRA" } ] }, { "role": "Writer", "people": [ { "name": "Karen Fox", "employer": "ADNET Systems, Inc." } ] } ], "missions": [ "SDO" ], "series": [ "Solar Snapshots" ], "tapes": [], "papers": [], "datasets": [ { "name": "", "common_name": "", "platform": "SDO", "sensor": null, "type": "Other", "organizations": [], "description": "", "credit": "", "url": "http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/", "date_range": null }, { "name": "171 Filter", "common_name": "AIA 171", "platform": "SDO", "sensor": "AIA", "type": "Other", "organizations": [ "JOINT SCIENCE OPERATIONS CENTER " ], "description": "", "credit": "", "url": "http://jsoc.stanford.edu/", "date_range": null } ], "nasa_science_categories": [ "Sun" ], "keywords": [ "Corona", "Earth Science", "EUV Imaging", "Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging", "Heliophysics", "SDO", "Solar Activity", "Solar Cycle", "Solar Dynamics Observatory", "Solar Ultraviolet", "Solar Wind", "Space Weather", "Sun-earth Interactions" ], "recommended_pages": [], "related": [ { "id": 11150, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11150/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "Space Weather Forecast", "description": "The sun goes through a natural cycle approximately every 11 years, hitting peaks and valleys of solar activity. The cycle is marked by the increase and decrease of sunspots—visible as dark blemishes on the sun's surface and connected to eruptions such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections. The largest number of sunspots in any given solar cycle is designated as \"solar maximum,\" and this next peak of activity is predicted to occur in 2013. The eruptions that occur during solar maximum can't harm humans on Earth. But scientists observe this activity, what they call space weather, because it can affect satellites in orbit and disrupt power grids on the ground. Watch the movie to see the kind of gigantic, and often beautiful, eruptions we expect to see more of in 2013. || ", "release_date": "2013-01-01T00:00:00-05:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:52:29.997691-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 470550, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011100/a011150/cover_solar2013_576.jpg", "filename": "cover_solar2013_576.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Sunny with a chance of wild space weather.", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } } ], "sources": [], "products": [], "newer_versions": [], "older_versions": [], "alternate_versions": [] }