This split image shows the difference between an active Sun during [a previous] solar maximum (on the left, captured in April 2014) and a quiet Sun during solar minimum (on the right, captured in December 2019). Credits: NASA/SDO

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, TomL, who shares the following news item:

Solar Cycle 25 May Peak Much Sooner Than Expected

“In April 2019, the Solar Cycle 25 Prediction Panel, which is made up of dozens of scientists from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), released its forecast for Solar Cycle 25, suggesting that the solar maximum would likely begin sometime in 2025 and would be comparable in size to the maximum of Solar Cycle 24, which peaked unusually late between mid-2014 and early 2016 and was quite weak compared with past solar maximums.

But from the beginning, the forecast seemed off. For instance, the number of observed sunspots has been much higher than predicted.”

TomL notes:

To read the rest of the article go to web site link here:
https://www.livescience.com/space/the-sun/solar-maximum-could-hit-us-harder-and-sooner-than-we-thought-how-dangerous-will-the-suns-chaotic-peak-be

Not mentioned in the article are implications for a sooner-than-expected Peak may mean that the Peak will be about the same strength as Cycle 24 but with a shorter duration. It may also mean that the future Cycle 26 may be weaker than both 24 or 25, but that remains to be seen.

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