![]() ![]() ![]() Sunspots result from areas of the sun that have stronger magnetic fields." "This results in the number of sunspots seen on the sun. "The sun has an 11-year cycle where it goes through maximum and minimum," said Schmoll. A cycle is traditionally measured by the rise and fall in the number of sunspots, but it also coincides with increases in solar flares, coronal mass ejections, radio emissions and other forms of space weather. Solar cycles track the activity level of the sun, our nearest star. What are solar cycles? What is the solar maximum? Northern lights photos: See aurora borealis light up skies across several states "The material released during these solar flares and CMEs interact with the Earth's magnetic field and excite particles in our atmosphere resulting in a beautiful light show in our sky known as the aurora," she said. ![]() "The sun has been more active, resulting in more solar storms that cause solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CME). "There have been an increase in aurora seen in general on Earth," Shannon Schmoll, the director of the Abrams Planetarium at Michigan State University told USA TODAY. Well, if you love the aurora, you're in luck, as it may be coming to a sky near you more often over the next few years thanks to the "solar maximum," which occurs in 2025. So why the uptick in aurora sightings? And is this expected to continue? And a more modest event occurred this week. In late April, for example, a stunning aurora display was seen as far south as Arkansas in the South and Arizona in the West. The northern lights, aka the aurora borealis, have been appearing more frequently in the night sky over the United States recently. Watch Video: What it's like to see Northern Lights from a glass igloo ![]()
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