noao9903 — Science Release
"Rush to the Poles" Predicts Coming Solar Max
31 May 1999: The Sun is known to exhibit a maximum of activity, including solar flares and an increased number of sunspots and coronal mass ejections, approximately every 11 years. Dr. Richard C. Altrock announces today his prediction that the next solar maximum will occur between January and April of 2000 based on a new method employing daily observations of high latitude coronal activity. Dr. Altrock, an Air Force Research Laboratory astronomer at the National Science Foundation's National Solar Observatory (NSO) at Sacramento Peak, New Mexico, will present his result today to the American Astronomical Society meeting in Chicago, Illinois. This prediction is of interest to solar astronomers and others who design and operate satellites.