Listening to the sun reveals previously hidden changes to solar cycle

There’s a Hidden Signal in the Sun, Study Suggests

Tuning into sound waves from deep inside the Sun revealed previously unknown patterns in solar activity.

The Sun Is Undergoing a Mysterious Change and Nobody Knows Why

The Sun is experiencing “striking” long-term shifts in its behavior that have gone undiscovered for more than a decade, according to a study published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society on Wednesday. The Sun passes through a cycle of high and low activity that lasts roughly 11 years and is caused by variations in the star’s magnetic activity. This activity peaks at a solar maximum, producing more frequent sunspots and highe…

Listening to the sun reveals previously hidden changes to solar cycle

Internal changes due to the sun's "active biorhythm" have become increasingly "skin-deep" over the past four solar activity cycles, according to a new study.

The Sun Is Squeezing Its Magnetic Activity Toward the Surface and Nobody Knows Why

Six telescopes, spread across three continents, have been listening to the Sun for nearly four decades. Not to its light. To its sound. The Birmingham Solar Oscillations Network, or BiSON, tracks tiny pressure waves rippling through our star’s interior, the same way geologists read earthquake tremors to map what lies beneath the crust. And after almost 40 years of that quiet, patient listening, the data have turned up something that nobody quite…

Uncovering Hidden Shifts in the Solar Cycle by Listening to the Sun

For decades, scientists have observed the Sun’s behavior primarily through its visible surface features—sunspots, solar flares, and coronal mass ejections that rhythmically wax and wane in approximately 11-year cycles. These cycles, marking the ebbs and flows of solar magnetic activity, significantly influence space weather and, consequently, technological systems on Earth, including satellites, power grids, and […]