The previous solar cycle was not so “spotty”.
In July 2024 on the Sun recorded the highest number of sunspots in 23 years. The Royal Belgian Observatory calculated that the average monthly number of sunspots was 196.5.
The last time a higher figure was recorded was in late 2001, at the peak of the next 11-year solar cycle. Notably, the previous solar cycle, which peaked in 2014, was not as “spotty.”
As SpaceWeather notes, the current solar cycle has exceeded analysts’ predictions. In 2019, at the start of the cycle, scientists believed that it would be about as weak as the previous one; in reality, the cycle may turn out to be one of the most powerful in the last 100 years.
Sunspots in July 2024
An interesting point: in the case of the cycle before last, the record number of sunspots became a harbinger of the most powerful of the observed flares and coronal mass ejections, which eventually reached Voyager.
It is difficult to say whether July was the maximum of the current solar cycle, but it is clear that solar activity will remain at a high level in the next 2-3 years. The end of the current cycle can be expected around 2028-2030.
