Cycle 25 appears to be a very active solar cycle; more active than NOAA predicted. And now, recently, a G5 storm occurred. Is that G5 storm representing the solar maximum, or is that still to come? What could be expected as the sun becomes increasingly active?

13 minutes ago, Carrington45X said:

Cycle 25 appears to be a very active solar cycle; more active than NOAA predicted. And now, recently, a G5 storm occurred. Is that G5 storm representing the solar maximum, or is that still to come? What could be expected as the sun becomes increasingly active?

It's actually pretty tame compared to some past cycles. geomagnetic storm strength isn't a good way to tell whether you're in max or not, a G5/G4 is more common around max, yes, but they can also happen whenever. The 2003 storms happened a year and a half after maximum for example.

There's no way to tell when solar max is unless it's already passed, we may be in max right now, it could have a double peak, we might not be in max, max could've already passed, etc.

1 hour ago, Carrington45X said:

Cycle 25 appears to be a very active solar cycle; more active than NOAA predicted. And now, recently, a G5 storm occurred. Is that G5 storm representing the solar maximum, or is that still to come? What could be expected as the sun becomes increasingly active?

The actual solar max, much like solar minimum, is determined after we pass that point by analyzing the activity. 

16 hours ago, SolarBlurp said:

The actual solar max, much like solar minimum, is determined after we pass that point by analyzing the activity. 

I wonder if we will be able to see hit here in wisconsin again it was SOOOOOO pretty.

1 hour ago, Pj Werzz said:

I wonder if we will be able to see hit here in wisconsin again it was SOOOOOO pretty.

Welcome to the forums!  And greetings neighbor, I also live in Madison.

20 uren geleden, Carrington45X zei:

Is that G5 storm representing the solar maximum, or is that still to come?

A storm doesn’t make a cycle. A G5 can also occur years after solar max even in the declining phase!

just to say, you don’t always need to most extreme solar flares to get a strong storm. 

give a look on the top 50 Storms page to get a glimpse of what can happen in a cycle

Hi there! I'm new to all this but consider myself as quite a sky geek lol...I love reading thru all this and I'm learning more and more everyday! It's all so fascinating to me.... greeting from Montana.

On 5/13/2024 at 10:37 AM, Sam Warfel said:

Welcome to the forums!  And greetings neighbor, I also live in Madison.

thank you!