Things May Get Chaotic As SUN Hits Peak Solar Energy- Astronomer warns 

The sun has reached the crux of its 11-year energy cycle, heralding a chaotic period of powerful solar storms and flares that could knock out satellites, inflict blackouts and disrupt global communication, NASA has announced.

“Roughly every 11 years, at the height of the solar cycle, the sun’s magnetic pole flips … and the sun transitions from being rather sluggish to being really active and stormy,” astronomer Kelly Korreck from NASA’s heliophysics division told a press briefing.

“We anticipate additional solar and geomagnetic storms leading to opportunities to spot the aurora over the next several months, as well as potential technology impacts.”

The so-called “solar maximum” phase of the current cycle, Solar Cycle 25, will last a year or two before activity begins to wane.

In May, the most powerful solar storm in two decades struck Earth and conjured some of the strongest auroras in 500 years. Earlier this month, another geomagnetic blast unleashed lashes of purple aurora australis across the sky as far north as Queensland.

“The bigger the storm, the more visible the aurora,” said Bill Murtagh from NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Centre. “But we can’t be hoping for these big displays because with them comes the threat to our critical infrastructure.

“We always have to be careful with what we wish for.”