All About Space Magazine Issue 87 Back Issue

OUR SUN IS GETTING HOTTER
After months of longer nights and shorter days where we've only had a small window to observe our nearest star, it's great to see the Sun grace the cover of All About Space this issue. This year marks Cycle 25: the point where it seems to quieten down in what we refer to as its solar minimum and where there seems to be very little in the way of activity such as sunspots, solar flares and other chaotic bubbling on its surface. The more tempestuous time in the Sun's lifetime is referred to as its solar maximum – it's coming to the end of this phase now and, shockingly for solar physicists – but great news for life on Earth and our telecommunications – it hasn't been that earth-shattering. Our Sun has been very quiet indeed. But things could change this time around, as our best computer models and spacecraft have revealed.