One way to track the solar cycle is by counting the number of sunspots, which are dark, cooler patches on the Sun’s surface.

Back in 2019, a consortium of scientists predicted August 2025 as the peak of the solar activity cycle. But where are we now? When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate ...

Activity on the sun is not constant; it varies along a cycle of about 11 years. The peak of this solar cycle — called solar maximum — is when sunspots, solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) ...