Sun is about to Flip Upside Down

It sounds like an event worthy of a sequel to the 1998 film Armageddon.

Nasa has said it expects the Sun to flip upside down within the next three weeks, with the impact being felt across the Solar System.

But before you quit your job and tell your boss what you really think of them, relax… the phenomenon actually happens every 11 years.

The cycle will see the Sun’s magnetic field reverse polarity. At worst, there will be satellite interference and a few radio blackouts.

There’s also an advantage to the switch if you’re a fan of the Northern Lights. Auroras are set to be more wide-ranging, visible and frequent after the event.

Researchers at Stanford University’s Wilcox Solar Observatory have monitored the Sun’s magnetic field every day for nearly 40 years, but the cause of the magnetic shift is not fully understood yet.

Solar physicist Todd Hoeksama explained: ‘It’s kind of like a tide coming in or going out. Each little wave brings a little more water in, and eventually you get to the full reversal.

‘It’s not a catastrophic event, it is a large scale event that has some real implications, but it’s not something we need to worry about.’

news.sky.com...
---------------------------------------------

not sure if this has been posted but,
i find this to be quite interesting news

they said not to worry but some prob will

could there be any massive changes on our planet?

What do you think guys? any expert would like to share their opinions?

peace.


Note: mod please remove this post. apparently it's already posted. sorry

reply to post by dodol


The physical sun won't flip upside down (and what side is upright in space?), it's the magnetic field that turns like clockwork every eleven years or so.

I wonder if it will flip when the comet is going around it and what effect that will have on the orbit. Never mind, I think that is only a little over a week away, not three weeks.

reply to post by dodol


Im pretty sure the flip was supposed to happen, and happened months ago.

reply to post by chadderson


I read that one side seemed to have flipped but the other didn't yet.

reply to post by dodol

First like a poster already said it's just the magnetic field flipping, not the sun itself.

could there be any massive changes on our planet?

Were there massive Earth changes 11-12 years ago? How about 11 years before that? Or before that?
No. I see no reason why this time would be any different.

Maybe a bit flippant but here we go.
I play darts, a fine game and in the pub I can have a drink while I pursue my endeavours so bonus. When the bit of the board (the 20 segment) gets a bit worn from use, you take the surrounding wire off, turn the board and replace the wire, giving a fresher area of the board to aim at.
Point to note. When you do this, the bullseye in the centre is still in the centre. The same would apply with the core of the sun, the hot violent bit creating all of the fusion, so a flip of polarity does not affect the manufacture as it were, just the surrounding field if you get my meaning.
As has been said, it is not a physical standing on its' head, its a pole shift. Or have I got it wrong?

The Sun is a giant magnet. If it reverses polarity, won't Earth also have to change? Could this actually cause the Earth itsself to physically flip?

reply to post by Oannes

The Sun doesn't really have a magnetic field like the Earth. It has a lot of magnetic fields. When it is said that the magnetic field of the Sun "flips" what is means is that the general magnetic alignment changes.

Before the "flip" the "north pole" of the Sun has a mostly "north" magnetic orientation but there still is some south in there. After the "flip" (which is a process more than an event), the south orientation beats the north (the south shall rise!). The process actually began last year.

Why it happens is not really known but the source of the Sun's magnetic field(s) is the plasma currents within it. These currents are much more fluid that the "magneto" which creates the Earths more truly bipolar (north-south) field.

The only influence the magnetic "field" of the Sun has on Earth is when remnants of it are carried by the solar wind (and CMEs) to our location in space. The magnetic orientation of the solar wind (and CMEs) is highly variable and is, in fact, one of the main factors in the occurrence of geomagnetic storms. While geomagnetic storms do cause the Earth's magnetic field to "wiggle", they are far too weak to have any effect on the orientation of the field itself (or the physical orientation of the Earth.). It should also be pointed out that the reversal of the Sun's "field" occurs on an average of every eleven years.


Here's a representation of the magnetic fields of the Sun now. Not like Earth's nice neat magnetosphere at all.
sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov...

Thanks guys
really appreciate your time

peace.

reply to post by Phage


Do you believe this will contribute to altering the projected path of ISON or ISON affecting the sun or both? What are your honest thoughts on how ISON might effect our solar system if not Earth also?

reply to post by Corruptedstructure

It will not affect the orbit of ISON.
ISON will not affect Earth or the Solar System.

reply to post by Phage


So, no debris issues before or after perihelion?
I see that you believe ISON is in orbit with our sun? Any idea on it's frequency in years?

reply to post by Corruptedstructure

No debris issues.

An orbit is not necessarily a closed loop. ISON may well have a hyperbolic orbit, meaning it will never return. At best its orbit is highly eccentric, meaning that if it does return it won't be for hundreds of thousands of years.


None of which has anything to do with the magnetic polarity of the Sun.

reply to post by Phage


That's what I figured...
Thanks Phage

Here's a cool video of the Sun's magnetic reversal:

Although the video description is pretty clear, the video still looks very confusing. But I think I can see that the Sun starts with the positive north (green) and negative south (magenta), then the poles flip by 2008, then they start working their way back by the end of the video (2013).

This visualization shows the position of the sun's magnetic fields from January 1997 to December 2013. The field lines swarm with activity: The magenta lines show where the sun's overall field is negative and the green lines show where it is positive. A region with more electrons is negative, the region with less is labeled positive. Additional gray lines represent areas of local magnetic variation.

The entire sun's magnetic polarity, flips approximately every 11 years -- though sometimes it takes quite a bit longer -- and defines what's known as the solar cycle. The visualization shows how in 1997, the sun shows the positive polarity on the top, and the negative polarity on the bottom. Over the next 12 years, each set of lines is seen to creep toward the opposite pole eventually showing a complete flip. By the end of the movie, each set of lines are working their way back to show a positive polarity on the top to complete the full 22 year magnetic solar cycle.

At the height of each magnetic flip, the sun goes through periods of more solar activity, during which there are more sunspots, and more eruptive events such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections, or CMEs. The point in time with the most sunspots is called solar maximum.

This thread will be discussed on the ATS Live Radio show Out of the Box.

Join the OOB crew TONIGHT as they discuss the weird and wonderful world of ATS....

Show Hosts:
NoRegretsEver, Above Board, Wrabbit2000, and Druid42
Show Guests:
FissionSurplus, FarleyWayne, Destinyone, and ItCameFromOuterSpace

OUT OF THE BOX