Astronomers announced when exactly the magnetic field of the star will change to the opposite polarity, and what troubles it can cause to the inhabitants of the earth.

NASA astronomers announced when the Sun’s magnetic field will change its polarity. According to the calculations, it will happen in only three weeks.

However, it is not a cause to wait for the apocalypse: such poles changes occur on the Sun every 11 years.

It is not a disaster but a large-scale phenomenon with real consequences. But it’s not something to worry about,” explained Todd Hoeksema, an expert in solar physics of Stanford University.

First, the solar magnetic field weakens till it is reduced to zero, and then it reappears again, but with reversed polarity – these processes are a normal stage of the solar cycle,” said his colleague Phil Scherrer.

However, this activity will affect the entire solar system. On Earth, it will result in magnetic storms, the malfunction of satellites, and electronic devices. At the peak of activity, more outbursts, plasma emissions, and the so-called coronal holes, i.e. areas with high speed of the solar wind, appear on the Sun.

Still, the change of the Sun’s magnetic field has a positive side: for example, the world will be more likely to watch the northern lights.

The fact that the star is close to the point in which its magnetic poles switch places was reported back in August. But then the experts could not say exactly when this will happen.

Scientists constantly monitor solar activity. According to the calculations Hoeksema and his research team did two or three years ago, the magnetic fields at the sun’s poles were only half as strong as they normally are under the conditions of the solar minimum.

The scientists say that it means that the new solar cycle that is about to start after the sun’s poles flip will be weaker than the previous one.


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