The sun is set to “flip upside down” within weeks as its magnetic
field reverses polarity in an event that will send ripple effects
throughout the solar system.
Although it may sound like a catastrophic occurrence,
there’s no need to run for cover. The sun switches its polarity,
flipping its magnetic north and south, once every eleven years through
an internal mechanism about which little is understood.
The
swap could however cause intergalactic weather fronts such as
geomagnetic storms, which can interfere with satellites and cause radio
blackouts.
Nasa said in August that the change would
happen in three to four months time, but it is impossible to give a more
specific date. Scientist won’t know for around another three weeks
whether the flip is complete.
The impact of the transfer
will be widespread as the sun’s magnetic field exerts influence well
beyond Pluto, past Nasa's Voyager probes positioned near the edge of
interstellar space.
The event will be watched closely by
researchers at Stanford University’s Wilcox Solar Observatory, which
monitors the sun's magnetic field on a daily basis.
Todd
Hoeksema, director of the Wilcox Solar Observatory, said the polarity
change is built up throughout the eleven year cycle through areas of
intense magnetic activity known as sunspots which gradually move towards
the poles, eroding the existing opposite polarity.
Eventually,
the magnetic field reduces to zero, before rebounding with the opposite
polarity. “It's kind of like a tide coming in or going out,” Hoeksema
said. “Each little wave brings a little more water in, and eventually
you get to the full reversal.”
One of the most noticeable
effect on Earth will be a boost in the occurrence, range and visibility
of auroras - the Northern Lights. “It’s not a catastrophic event, it’s a
large scale event that has some real implications, but its not
something we need to worry about,” added Hoeksema.
