What is Solar Cycle 25?

Solar Cycle 25 is like a big, slow game of tag that happens on the Sun every few years.

Imagine the Sun is like a kid who runs around and plays with sunspots, which are like freckles on its face. These sunspots come and go in a pattern, sometimes there are lots of them, and sometimes there are very few. This back-and-forth is called the solar cycle.

The Sun has a kind of beat or rhythm to it. Every 11 years or so, it goes through one full cycle. Right now, we're in Solar Cycle 25, which means this is the 25th time we've counted these sunspot games.

During the start of the cycle, there are very few sunspots, like when a kid takes a break from running. But as the cycle goes on, more and more sunspots appear until they’re everywhere. Then, after a while, they disappear again, and the game starts over.

This rhythm affects things here on Earth too, it can make the weather change or even cause some fun lights in the sky called the aurora!