Space
Explainer: What is the solar cycle?
Here’s what causes the sun’s 11-year cycle of activity and what it means for us on Earth.
By Adam Mann
MS-ESS1-1
Develop and use a model of the Earth-sun-moon system to describe the cyclic patterns of lunar phases, eclipses of the sun and moon, and seasons.
More Stories in MS-ESS1-1
- Physics
A new tool shows tiny changes in the ’24-hour’ length of a day
An underground instrument known as ‘G’ uses laser beams to measure Earth’s rotation — a gauge of day length — with extreme precision.
- Space
You can get involved in science during the 2024 solar eclipse
The sun will be near the peak of its activity cycle during the eclipse on April 8, 2024. That will make it a great time to crowdsource solar research.
- Space
Here’s why the moon must get its own time zone
But should moon time be like Earth time — or quite different? At issue: The moon’s lesser gravity will make seconds there tick faster than on Earth.
- Earth
Scientists Say: Equinox and Solstice
Equinoxes and solstices mark the maximums, minimums and mediums of hours spent in daylight.
- Earth
Scientists Say: Pole
A pole is either of two opposite ends of a molecule, magnet, battery, planet or other object.
- Space
Ancient volcanoes may have left ice at the moon’s poles
Volcanic eruptions billions of years ago may have produced several temporary atmospheres on the moon that held water vapor.
- Space
Wild art? No, it’s a radio image of the heart of our Milky Way
Eyelash-like radio filaments accent the brightest feature in this image — a supermassive black hole.
- Oceans
Moon’s orbital wobble can add to sea-level rise and flooding
In a dozen years or so, the tide-enhancing effects of a wobble in the moon’s orbit should lead to dramatically higher sea levels in some coastal cities.
- Climate
Climate may have sent drift of the North Pole toward Greenland
This mid-1990s shift in the pole’s movement was driven by glacial melt. And that was triggered in part by climate change, a new study reports.
