Severe solar storms and dazzling Northern Lights displays have been gracing the skies of Michigan more than usual these past few months, and like so many other people amazed by the natural phenomena, I have been relishing every chance I get to see them.
The lights haven’t just been noticeable up north and in places designated for dark skies, although that does make viewing much easier. People downstate and further south beyond Michigan have been witnessing the lights more frequently since last year due to another phenomenon known as a “solar cycle.”
According to NASA, this is the cycle that the sun’s magnetic field goes through approximately every 11 years. In this timespan, the sun’s north and south poles switch places and affect activity on the surface of the sun, causing sunspots to occur. Solar activity and the number of sunspots increase over time, and it’s in the middle of the solar cycle when the sun has the most spots. Solar flares and coronal mass ejections, which are giant eruptions on the sun, also increase during the cycle, creating colorful lights in the sky seen from earth.
