Researchers are using data from Sun-like stars to learn more about solar variability

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Solar scientists have taken a mathematical technique used by Earth scientists to analyze cyclic phenomena, such as the ebb and flow of ocean tides, and applied it to the confounding irregularity of cycles on the Sun. The result is an elegant “Sun clock” that shows that solar activity starts and stops on a much more precise schedule than could be discerned when looking at observations of the Sun in the traditional way – plotted linearly over time.

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The last of six tiny satellites that were rocketed into space 14 years ago – and then went on to prove that the wealth of accurate atmospheric data that can be gleaned from existing GPS signals can improve operational weather forecasts – was officially decommissioned on May 1, outliving its original planned lifespan by a dozen years.