The sun has been unleashing a series of intense solar flares in recent weeks and much of last year as scientists forecast the sun has reached its solar maximum, an 11-year cycle. However, some scientists have a different theory, suggesting it's part of a centennial cycle during which the solar activity will be actively intense for decades.
Space Weather recently published a report that offers a new theory that the sun may enter a multi-decade intensity period called the Centennial Gleissberg Cycle, which measures solar cycles over a century.
While scientists believe that the sun reached its solar maximum under the named Solar Cycle 25, the intensity of the solar flares and geomagnetic storms was unprecedented. Last May, the geomagnetic storms triggered a historic event when the solar storms triggered some of the most widespread auroras in the past 500 years," Live Science reported. Adding that scientists did not anticipate the intensity of the current solar cycle since the last Solar Cycle 24 was mild.
In the new study, scientists aim to explain and understand why this cycle has been so historic, using a theory of the Centennial Gleissberg Cycle and adding that the sun cycles are much longer than initially thought.
The science behind the theory is based on a correlation between the 11-year cycles and high energy protons in the Earth's inner radiation belt. The study used two NOAA satellites, where scientists noticed a decline in proton flux during the recent strong intensity of the active solar activity, which correlates with the midpoint of the Centennial Gleissberg Cycle, Forbes reported. "Until 2022, the proton flux had been increasing."
The new theory suggests that the 80 -- to 100-year cycle may be more accurate in determining the active sun spot activity than the previously thought of 11-year cycles. That would mean the new cycle would be starting over soon, and the sun's activity would calm down. While not all scientists align with the centennial theory, adding that the latest report would suggest the opposite and that the previous centennial cycle may well be over, as the new cycle is gearing up with much more solar activity, with more widespread auroras possible in the years to come.