article_snippet.sent: A positive aspect, from an aesthetic point of view, is that the auroras are enhanced.
article_snippet.sent: Shown in this illustration are the various different regions of The sun and a sunspot (top right)
article_snippet.sent: What we're looking at here is a massive driver of solar storms,' said Dr Scott McIntosh, lead author of the new study and director of NCAR's High Altitude Observatory. '
article_snippet.sent: By better understanding how these activity bands form in The sun and cause seasonal instabilities, there's the potential to greatly improve forecasts of space weather events.'
article_snippet.sent: Shown here are images of The sun over one cycle showing changes in The sun activity .
article_snippet.sent: Researchers can turn to advanced computer simulations and more detailed observations to learn more about the profound influence of the bands on solar activity.
article_snippet.sent: Dr McIntosh Dr McIntosh said this could be assisted by a proposed network of satellites observing The sun, much as the global networks of satellites around Earth have helped advance terrestrial weather models since the 1960s. '
article_snippet.sent: If you understand what the patterns of solar activity are telling you, you'll know whether we're in the stormy phase or the quiet phase in each hemisphere,' Dr McIntosh said. '
article_snippet.sent: If we can combine these pieces of information, forecast skill goes through the roof.'