A leading goal of solar scientists is to improve predictions of the Sun's approximately 11-year cycle. New research led by scientists from NCAR and Sweden shows how solar predictions can borrow from weather forecasting techniques in order to predict the timing and extent of the solar cycle.

Space debris poses serious risks to a wide array of satellites critical to society. NCAR is part of a collaborative effort to help reduce those risks by modeling the effects of space weather on satellite orbits, helping operators steer spacecraft more accurately around debris.

While the current peak in the 11-year cycle of sunspot activity is on the weak side, the Sun might still produce a major storm at any point. The most dangerous storms are most likely during the waning part of the solar cycle, which will unfold later this decade.

A grand solar minimum would slow global warming but not stop it.

New observations of the magnetic field on the Sun are providing an unprecedented glimpse into solar eruptions that have serious impacts on Earth.