OK, so I’ve been a bit of a nut case lately, constantly harping on about the sun and its magnetic situation and how unstable it is. Well, there’s a reason for this. NASA is confirming my recent suspicions on the Sun’s volatility. This is what they are saying:
Something big is about to happen on the sun. According to measurements from NASA-supported observatories, the sun’s vast magnetic field is about to flip.
“It looks like we’re no more than 3 to 4 months away from a complete field reversal,” says solar physicist Todd Hoeksema of Stanford University. “This change will have ripple effects throughout the solar system.” [1]
But before everyone panics, let me hasten to add that we’ve lived through many of these already. In fact, it is a normal cycle for the sun. We would be worried if it didn’t reverse itself.
The sun’s magnetic field changes polarity approximately every 11 years. It happens at the peak of each solar cycle as the sun’s inner magnetic dynamo re-organizes itself. The coming reversal will mark the midpoint of Solar Cycle 24. Half of ‘Solar Max’ will be behind us, with half yet to come. [1]
After the reversal, we should see less and less activity until it reaches its solar minimum, which does affect the Earth, but again, there’s no need to panic. We went through the last one in 2002 and hardly anybody even noticed that it happened at all.
…
1. The Sun’s Magnetic Field Is About to Flip
Taobabe 
Still… doesn’t it seem like we should feel… something…? Along the same line, I promise not to use a full field reversal of the nearest star as an excuse to behave awkwardly this fall.
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Not sure, Michael. I’ll dig around and find out. 🙂 Meanwhile, you keep trying to behave. Don’t be barking at the moon.
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