The two poles change polarity every 11 years for reasons that are still unknown

Aug 6, 2013 16:15 GMT  ·  By

The Sun's magnetic poles are about to flip. The major event will have effects all across the solar system. Don't worry though, it's not as dramatic as it sounds, this happens every 11 years during the peak in solar activity.

This peak should be reached within the next few months, towards the end of the year, though scientists can't make a better prediction than that.

But the latest measurements by NASA show that things are under way and the flip is definitely coming. Of course, much more surprising would have been if the measurements wouldn't have shown this.

The flip is a major event, it's effects will be felt all the way to the Voyager probe, on the outskirts of the solar system. The Earth too will be affected, though the planet will be protected from the worse of the effects.

The event isn't a fast one either, as the peak of activity is reached, the magnetic field around the sun gets messy. Whereas normally, you'd have two magnetic poles, during the flip, several emerge. The two main poles don't change polarity in sync either.