Where is the Sun's magnetic north pole now?

[Bjarne]

The Sun's Magnetic poles reverses every 11 year.
Where is the magnetic North Pole now? - at geographic North or South?

 

[Mikeral]

By quickly googling up our sun's magnetic cycle i can see that the latest reversal took place in 2001, at this time the magnetic south was pointed geographically north and magnetic north pointed geographically south. Each "flip" lasts about 11 years. So we can expect the next reversal to take place around the year 2012.

 

[nismaratwork]

By quickly googling up our sun's magnetic cycle i can see that the latest reversal took place in 2001, at this time the magnetic south was pointed geographically north and magnetic north pointed geographically south. Each "flip" lasts about 11 years. So we can expect the next reversal to take place around the year 2012.

Oh lord, this must be one those things the 2012 doomsdayers are afraid of, right? If I may ask, why does the pole reverse so rapidly, given the mass and size of the sun, that seems rapid. In the case of a magnetar, does it do so at all, or is the switch a matter of microseconds?

 

[Mikeral]

Oh lord, this must be one those things the 2012 doomsdayers are afraid of, right?

I still find the concept of "2012" rather humorous although it does coincide with the solar cycle. Without getting to far into an "end of the world" discussion it does seem that the year 2012 is going to be an interesting year for solar activity.

If I may ask, why does the pole reverse so rapidly, given the mass and size of the sun, that seems rapid

SO far as i read, the reason for the 11 year cycle is not fully understood, which by the way if anyone has any link to info, post them i would love to read more. Anyways, what my impression seems to be is that major "cataclysmic" events in the sun cause major magnetic disturbances and changes. i.e solar flares and CMEs. The cause of this, my hypothesis, is a buildup of internal energy in the sun that gets released at the solar maximum causing the pole reversal and this loss of energy causes the sun to back into a buildup phase, the solar minimum and back to max, hence the cycle. Once again, only my little hypothesis on the subject.

I would compare it to a workout, you sprint for a while then rest to recoup your energy and so on and so forth.

as for the magnetar, i have no info on me about the reversal of a magnetic neutron star's poles.

 

[nismaratwork]

I still find the concept of "2012" rather humorous although it does coincide with the solar cycle. Without getting to far into an "end of the world" discussion it does seem that the year 2012 is going to be an interesting year for solar activity.


SO far as i read, the reason for the 11 year cycle is not fully understood, which by the way if anyone has any link to info, post them i would love to read more. Anyways, what my impression seems to be is that major "cataclysmic" events in the sun cause major magnetic disturbances and changes. i.e solar flares and CMEs. The cause of this, my hypothesis, is a buildup of internal energy in the sun that gets released at the solar maximum causing the pole reversal and this loss of energy causes the sun to back into a buildup phase, the solar minimum and back to max, hence the cycle. Once again, only my little hypothesis on the subject.

I would compare it to a workout, you sprint for a while then rest to recoup your energy and so on and so forth.

as for the magnetar, i have no info on me about the reversal of a magnetic neutron star's poles.

Interesting, what you're saying about the sun sounds like magnetic reconnection. I'll have to read a bit on this, thank you.

 

[shortlk]

I would imagine that the sun could flip more easily as it is made up of primarily hydrogen unlike the Earth's core of iron. As to do with 2012, the suns 11 year cycle is directly related to president obama's alien affiliation and our metamorphosis into the new age.

 

[nismaratwork]

I would imagine that the sun could flip more easily as it is made up of primarily hydrogen unlike the Earth's core of iron. As to do with 2012, the suns 11 year cycle is directly related to president obama's alien affiliation and our metamorphosis into the new age.

Good one.