Cycles of Life

Everything cycles until death

Astrophysicists studying stars use the closest star to Earth as their main test subject, Sol. Astronomers met recently during the American Astronomical Society meeting on May 26 in Miami to discuss the usefulness and reliability of three new techniques being used by current solar scientists to delve into the mysteries of the sun. "Scientists hope these three new techniques will help them predict the future behavior of Sol and jet streams, rhythmic oscillations, and magnetic activity all hold promise for solar scientists peering into the depths of the sun."

David H. Hathaway of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center used the meridional flow scientists studying Sol associate with an increase in the intensity of the solar cycle of Sol, to make a prediction that Sol's current cycle will peak around 2013, although he thinks this peak will be about half the size of the past three solar peaks.

Sol in a dark mood

Sushanta Tripathy and Frank Hill of the National Solar Observatory have been studying vibrations from Sol's surface they call rhythmic oscillations. Their studies have found a strong correlation exists between rhythmic oscillations and the activity level of Sol. They used their data to show that during the present minimum activity period of Sol, a double minimum in solar activity occurred, which they think could in some way relate to Sol's current in activity.

Julia Saba of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center has been taking a look at the data collected concerning the activity of Sol's magnetic field. Her work has helped her predict, up to 18 months ahead of time, when Cycle 24 would start, and to speculate that Cycle 24 will be weaker and longer in length than average.