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Solar Cycle 25 Is Here. NASA, NOAA Scientists Explain What That Means | NASA

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Solar Cycle 25 Is Here. NASA, NOAA Scientists Explain What That Means | NASA

With solar minimum behind us, scientists expect the Sun’s activity to ramp up toward the next predicted maximum in July 2025. Doug Biesecker, panel co-chair and solar physicist at NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) in Boulder, Colorado, said Solar Cycle 25 is anticipated to be as strong as the last solar cycle, which was a below-average cycle, but not without risk.

“Just because it’s a below-average solar cycle, doesn’t mean there is no risk of extreme space weather,” Biesecker said. “The Sun’s impact on our daily lives is real and is there. SWPC is staffed 24/7, 365 days a year because the Sun is always capable of giving us something to forecast.” 

NPR

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Perseid Meteor Shower To Peak Overnight : NPR

If you're tired of binge-watching TV during the pandemic, Mother Nature has an alternative. All you have to do is go outside between about 2 a.m. Wednesday and dawn local time, lie on your back and look up at the sky. The meteors and fireballs of the Perseid meteor shower should be streaking.

NASA says it's "one of the best" meteor shows of the year. That's because of the sheer number of meteors — 50 to 100 meteors to catch per hour as well as their fireballs — larger, brighter explosions of light and color that last longer than an average meteor streak.

 

Scientists Say the Moon Is Way Younger than We Thought

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Scientists Say the Moon Is Way Younger than We Thought

According to a sophisticated new model, the Moon is far younger than scientists previously thought — to the tune of some 85 million years.

It’s not such a drastic shift when you consider how long the Moon’s been around. The research, published Friday in the journal Science Advances, adjusts the age of the Moon from 4.51 billion years old to 4.425 billion, with 25-million-year-long error bars on either side. But it does clarify some of the mysteries surrounding how it formed in the first place.

How Halley’s Comet will spark tonight’s meteor shower | cbs19.tv

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How Halley’s Comet will spark tonight’s meteor shower | cbs19.tv

The second meteor shower in as many weeks will dazzle the eyes of stargazers around the globe, but the light show will be battling against the glow of a nearly full moon when it reaches its peak.

The Eta Aquarids is an annual meteor shower in early May, and this year, reaches its climax on Monday night and the pre-dawn hours of Tuesday morning.