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Did you know the Sun has different seasons? 

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The left is 2019 and the right is 2024.

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Over the course of around 11 years,

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the Sun cycles through different phases.

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We call this the solar cycle.

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In 2019, the Sun was in a period of low activity

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known as solar minimum,

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when there are fewer eruptions on its surface.

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Gradually over the next five years,

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the Sun became more active

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as it approached solar maximum.

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These bright spots seen here are known as active regions.

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They have intense magnetic activity

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that can sometimes release bursts of energy.

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To give a sense of scale,

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the loops in these active regions

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rise many times the size of Earth above the Sun’s surface.

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But active regions are only temporary.

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They pulse and fizzle out in the space of hours or months.

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In the years after solar maximum,

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fewer active regions will appear

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and the Sun will become calm once again.