Ephemeris: 05/20/2024 – Sunspots

This is Ephemeris for Monday, May 20th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 1 minute, setting at 9:10, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:07. The Moon, 3 days before full, will set at 4:52 tomorrow morning.

As can be seen with the northern light display more than a week ago that the Sun is becoming more active. It’s because particles, mostly protons, from the Sun in the form of the solar wind and enhancements in the solar wind called coronal mass ejections, tangle with the Earth’s magnetic field and stream through the upper atmosphere. The activity on the Sun is signaled by the ebb and flow of the number of dark spots called sunspots. Individual sunspots or sunspot groups only last for, maybe, a couple of weeks. They’re caused by the magnetic fields being generated in the Sun causing the gas to cool a bit and making them darker. Sunspot numbers ebb flow in a period of about 11 years, called a sunspot cycle. This sunspot cycle is reaching a higher peak than expected.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT–4 hours). They may be different for your location.

Addendum

The white light Sun on May 8th 2024. Near the center of the disk are two sunspot groups which are labeled 3668 and 3664. The latter was responsible for the solar flares that created the coronal mass ejection (CME) that caused widespread auroras two days later on the Earth. Credit NOAA/SDO.

Click or tap on image to enlarge it. Credit NASA.

The history of sunspot numbers from 1857 through March 2024 . Showing the 11 year sunspot cycle from cycle 10 to the current cycle 25. Notice how the peaks vary with the sunspot cycle. It’s been relatively low recently although currently our cycle 25 has bested cycle 24 already and we’re not yet at the peak. Credit: Royal Observatory of Belgium in Brussels. Via Spaceweatherlive.com.