The report in the journal Science aims to lay to rest the controversy over whether our solar system’s star is cyclic, like other nearby, solar-type stars. These changes are driven by the Sun’s magnetic field. Scientists have long believed that our Sun was unusual because it did not match the magnetic cycles observed on other solar-type stars. They compared their simulations with observations of cyclic activity in nearby solar-type stars, and found that indeed, the cycle periods of the Sun and other solar-type stars all follow the same relationship. “This research shows that the 11-year cycle is the principal cycle of all solar-type stars,” said Allan Sacha Brun, Head of the Laboratory Dynamics of Stars and their Environment and principal investigator of the European Research Council project called STARS2.

Source: Mint July 14, 2017 01:30 UTC