Please note!

This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.

Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Is solar activity expected to reach an unusual low in the next decade?

Tuesday, November 24, 2020

By Jacob Alabab-Moser

Copy link

Copy featured image

NASA predicts that the upcoming solar cycle, Solar Cycle 25, will be "weaker than average." But it's also expected to end a forty-year period of weakening magnetic fields on the sun. “There is no indication that we are currently approaching" what scientists call a grand solar minimum, says Lisa Upton, the co-chair of the Solar Cycle 25 Prediction Panel.

The sun alternates between periods of violent activity called solar maximums, which feature solar flares and eruptions, and periods of relative calm called solar minimums. These periods shift approximately every 11 years, when the sun's magnetic poles flip.

The last grand solar minimum occurred in the middle of the Little Ice Age (13th through 19th century) causing "erroneous beliefs that another grand minimum could lead to global cooling." Today, scientists theorize the Little Ice Age occurred for other reasons.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

NASA: What will Solar Cycle 25 look like?

NASA: Solar minimum is coming

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR

Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF BY

Latest fact briefs

About fact briefs published on Gigafact

Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.