We may have passed the peak of solar maximum, but that doesn't mean the aurora season is winding down. In fact, the years after solar maximum can be some of the most exciting for skywatchers.
Space weather physicist describes one potential late-cycle outburst as 's "last gasp", a dramatic finale that could trigger powerful geomagnetic storms and impressive on Earth..
can be especially turbulent, and particularly good for aurora chasers.The turbulent decline
Solar activity follows an 11-year rhythm, rising to a frenzy of and eruptions during a period known as before easing towards a more subdued solar minimum. But doesn't experience this decline as a calm fade-out.ut.
"It's good news for aurora chasers as peak auroral activity occurs a few years after solar maximum," Pål Brekke, solar physicist at the Norwegian Space Agency, . "Thus, we should have several years still with very high aurora activity.""
That's because the key drivers of geomagnetic activity change throughout the solar cycle. During solar maximum, eruptions such as and (CMEs) dominate. After solar maximum, long-lived coronal holes, cooler, darker regions in the that release high-speed , become more common.on.
"During the declining phase, we actually have more geomagnetic storms," Skov explained. "Maybe the sun's actual eruption activity slows down a bit after you peak through solar max, but because you still have coronal holes forming — and you still have quite a few eruptions — when you add the two together, it ends up being more activity at Earth."