Sun Reaches Solar Maximum State: Here's What PA Can Expect

PENNSYLVANIA ? The sun is in a particularly perky state at the moment. For the next year, the star will be in what is known as its maximum solar period, which potentially could cause communication problems and other difficulties here on Earth.

That's according to NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which last week cautioned that the solar maximum can trigger the sun unleashing immense explosions of light, energy and solar radiation - all of which can have impacts on Earth.

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?During solar maximum, the number of sunspots, and therefore, the amount of solar activity, increases,? Jamie Favors, director of the space weather program at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. said in a release. ?This increase in activity provides an exciting opportunity to learn about our closest star ? but also causes real effects on Earth and throughout our solar system.?

According to NASA, the sun cycles through periods of low and high magnetic activity. About once every 11 years, at the solar cycle's peak, the sun's magnetic poles flip. NASA compares that to the Earth's north and south poles swapping places every decade.

When the flip occurs, the sun transitions from a calm to a stormy state, creating conditions known as space weather. In space, satellites and astronauts can be affected. On Earth, power grids and communications systems such as radio and GPS can be impacted.

According to NASA, solar activity has led to increased aurora visibility and impacts on satellites and infrastructure in recent months.

In May, a barrage of large solar flares and coronal mass ejections launched clouds of charged particles and magnetic fields toward Earth. NASA said that triggered the strongest geomagnetic storm at Earth in two decades ? and possibly among the strongest displays of auroras in the past 500 years.

?We?ll be studying this event for years,? Teresa Nieves-Chinchilla, acting director of NASA?s Moon to Mars Space Weather Analysis Office, said at the time. ?It will help us test the limits of our models and understanding of solar storms.?