You may have heard of lunar cycles, due to which the moon appears to change its shape numerous times in a month. But did you know that solar cycles exist too? Yes, you read it right. Although the Sun doesn’t rotate around any planetary body, it undergoes cycles; they are based on the formation of sunspots.

You might have heard, read about, or even witnessed with your own eyes, that sometimes there are spots on the Sun (but don’t try to look for too long without protective eye gear). These sunspots are caused by magnetic fields in the interior of the Sun. When these come out to the exterior and into the solar atmosphere, they look darker than the surrounding regions, appearing as spots. When the spots are high in number, the phenomenon is known as a solar maximum in the solar cycle. And similarly, when there are very few spots, it is known as a solar minimum. The interesting thing about them is that they last for years! This cycle has been repeating itself since well before humans existed.

Sun storms have been a recurring occurrence in 2024. They take place when there is increased solar energy transferred to the Earth’s magnetic field, i.e. the magnetosphere. Such storms disrupt satellite navigation systems, radio communications, etc. But there’s a cool side to that—auroras! You must have seen these brightly coloured, enchanting magical lights near the poles on TV (or in person). Well, such solar storms have increased the number of auroras, and recently they were seen in Ladakh! To explain concisely, auroras occur when hot, magnetized gas from the Sun is shot into Earth’s magnetic fields, and it accelerates and follows the lines of the magnetic field down to the atmosphere near the poles. When the gas particles (mostly electrons) collide with air molecules, the latter glows, causing auroras!

Scientists speculate that auroras may now become common in areas that have not witnessed them before. So, let’s hope and keep our fingers crossed to witness one soon!