00:00The Sun is approaching its solar maximum, the apex of its 11-year solar cycle.
00:08As it approaches that, as we've seen over the last couple of years,
00:11we can expect more and greater activity from our solar system center.
00:15But that's the thing, this solar cycle might be far more intense than anyone expected.
00:20Just last year, a coronal mass ejection from the Sun came into contact with our planet.
00:24While the resulting auroras were especially beautiful,
00:27it also increased the air density in the upper atmosphere.
00:30This caused issues with a SpaceX Starlink launch,
00:33causing them to lose some 38 of the 49 satellites they attempted to put into orbit.
00:37Experts say that the last solar cycle was a relatively weak one,
00:40perhaps throwing off predictions for this current cycle.
00:43In fact, this graphic from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
00:47shows the predicted solar activity as a gray curve.
00:50Meanwhile, the actual activity is graphed in dots,
00:52revealing an increasing level of activity from the Sun.
00:55And we're still years away from the solar maximum in 2025.
00:59So what's going to happen when the Sun reaches its apex?
01:01Well, we'll just have to wait and see.
01:04We'll see.
01:05We'll see.
01:06We'll see.
01:07We'll see.
01:08.
01:09.
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