While the expression “pole reversal” may evoke a dramatic tipping point, the phenomenon is in fact gradual, complex, and closely tied to the solar maximum (which does not fall in 2026). It remains a nonetheless fascinating phenomenon since its effects also touch Earth, particularly satellites, communications, and power grids.
Every eleven years, the Sun’s global polarity configuration becomes disordered
The phenomenon Franceinfo labeled as a major upheaval is, in reality, a perfectly natural mechanism for our star. Every eleven years the Sun goes through an activity cycle during which its magnetic field becomes disorganized, weakens at the poles, then reconstitutes itself with reversed polarity. The magnetic north becomes south, and vice versa. The European Space Agency explains that this inversion occurs around solar maximum, when the star’s activity reaches its highest level.
Above all, it’s important to avoid confusion: the Sun’s magnetic poles are not fixed points like those of a laboratory magnet. The Sun’s magnetic field is produced by the motions of conducting plasma inside the star. Its structure twists, fragments, and reorganizes throughout the cycle. When activity peaks, the global configuration becomes particularly tangled before gradually reorganizing under the dominance of the new polarity.
The activity cycle lasts about eleven years, but the complete magnetic cycle extends roughly twenty-two years. Two successive reversals are needed to restore the initial polarity. The Solar Cycle 25, which began around late 2019, is precisely the one our star is currently traversing. The National Centers for Environmental Information (NOAA) track its evolution from the sunspot count, the 10.7 cm radio flux, and other indicators, with forecasts updated as new data come in.
The current period is therefore not a Sun “going dark” or suddenly becoming something else. It corresponds to a normal phase of its magnetic functioning. NASA and NOAA announced in October 2024 that the Sun had entered the solar maximum period for Cycle 25. Since then, activity has remained sufficiently high to produce powerful eruptions on a regular basis.
Why are the poles the first to be affected?
To understand this change, one must look beneath the Sun’s visible surface. The star is made of plasma—a superheated, electrically charged substance whose moving particles generate the solar magnetic field, extending far into interplanetary space and influencing the solar wind.
The Sun’s rotation further complicates this mechanism. Our star does not rotate at the same rate everywhere: the equatorial region completes a rotation in about 25 days, while regions near the poles take roughly 35 days. This differential rotation gradually twists magnetic field lines. They stretch, concentrate, and eventually create configurations that are particularly unstable, giving rise to sunspots and active regions. These regions themselves are associated with a large portion of eruptions and coronal mass ejections.
However, the process is not a simple on/off switch from “north” to “south.” Observations instead reveal a transitional period during which both polarities coexist at high latitudes. Direct polar observations from Solar Orbiter have precisely captured this unusual situation.
The European Space Agency showed in June 2025 that the Sun’s southern pole contained regions of opposite magnetic polarity at the same time. This configuration matches the anticipated phase of disorganization around solar maximum. Over time, one polarity should gradually become dominant and rebuild a more orderly polar cap.
The Sun’s poles finally reveal their secrets
For decades, scientists have had to study the Sun’s polar regions using indirect methods. The reason is geometric: Earth and most solar probes operate in nearly the same plane as the solar equator. From our planet, the poles are therefore extremely difficult to observe directly.
The situation changed with Solar Orbiter. The mission, led by the European Space Agency with participation from NASA, altered its orbit to gain altitude relative to the ecliptic plane. In February 2025, the spacecraft entered its high-latitude observation phase and achieved an inclination of 17 degrees relative to the Sun’s equator. In March 2025, it was able to obtain the first detailed direct images of the Sun’s south pole.
These observations are not just spectacular. They provide essential insights into the mechanism governing the solar cycle. Magnetic maps produced with the PHI instrument have, in particular, revealed a polar landscape that is much more complex than a simple pole with a single polarity.
Opposite-sign magnetic zones appear even in polar regions
More importantly, this discovery enables tracking the reconstruction of the magnetic field after its reversal. Researchers will be able to observe how different structures disappear, move, or strengthen before one polarity ultimately dominates. The aim is to better understand why solar cycles do not all have exactly the same intensity and why it remains difficult to forecast the Sun’s behavior several years in advance.
Solar Orbiter’s measurements have also challenged some assumptions about plasma movements around the poles. The movement of plasma toward the polar regions runs at about 10 to 20 meters per second, a speed higher than some previous estimates. These motions could contribute to the transport and redistribution of the magnetic field at the Sun’s surface.
This circulation is especially important for understanding the link between two consecutive cycles. The magnetic field produced by active regions is gradually carried toward higher latitudes. Some of this field is then buried in the solar interior. Internal plasma motions thereby contribute to rebuilding the field that will power the next cycle. The exact mechanism remains complex enough that scientists cannot yet predict the power of the next cycle with certainty.
Thus, the new polar observations constitute a key piece of the puzzle. Solar Orbiter will continue to raise its orbit in the coming years: its inclination will reach 24 degrees after a planned Venus flyby in December 2026, then 33 degrees from 2029 onward. Observing the poles will become even more precise.
Can the Sun disrupt Earth during this period?
The reversal of the Sun’s magnetic poles does not, by itself, pose a direct threat to life on Earth. The phenomenon unfolds over long time scales and does not mean the Sun will suddenly blast an unusual amount of energy toward our planet. However, the period surrounding this reversal is characterized by high solar activity, and this is what space-weather scientists focus on.
When magnetic fields become highly complex, solar eruptions can release large amounts of energy. Some are accompanied by coronal mass ejections, vast clouds of magnetized plasma hurled into space. If one of these structures heads toward Earth, it can interact with our magnetosphere and trigger a geomagnetic storm.
Potential consequences primarily affect technology. Radio communications can be disrupted, satellite navigation systems affected, and the satellites themselves exposed to harsher conditions. In the most intense episodes, induced currents can also disrupt power grids. Astronauts and spacecraft outside Earth’s protective atmosphere are also more exposed to energetic particles.
NASA provided a recent illustration. On July 4, 2026, its Solar Dynamics Observatory observed an X1.3-class eruption. The U.S. agency notes that this type of event can affect radio communications, power networks, and navigation signals, while posing risks to spacecraft and astronauts.
A few days earlier, on June 30, 2026, another X1.1-class eruption was recorded. These events show that the Sun remains highly active in 2026, even if their occurrence should not be automatically attributed to the pole reversal alone. Solar activity evolves according to multiple parameters, and a particular eruption does not by itself prove a precise magnetic change.
It is precisely to better understand these interactions that scientists are strengthening monitoring capabilities. The European-Chinese Smile mission, launched on May 19, 2026, is designed, among other goals, to study how the solar wind interacts with Earth’s magnetosphere. Its objective is to improve understanding of geomagnetic storms and the mechanisms that trigger auroras. The mission reached its science orbit in June, after a Venus flyby, with a closest approach to about 120,920 kilometers above Earth’s north pole.
The real challenge of the current change is therefore less about whether “north and south will invert” than about determining what this phase reveals about the solar interior. The latest observations already provide a crucial clue: magnetic reversal is far less regular and far messier than a simple magnet rotation.
A study focused on Cycle 25, based on observations from the Japanese Hinode satellite, places the polar-cap reversals in autumn 2024: the southern region around October, the northern region in November. It particularly suggests that the northern reversal occurred about 19 months after the maximum sunspot count in that hemisphere. This means the idea of a reversal beginning only in the summer of 2026 is not supported.
The situation in 2026 is better described as a Sun still deeply engaged in the consequences of its activity maximum, while researchers continue to observe how its magnetic field reorganizes. NOAA even updates their Cycle 25 progression curve monthly with new observations, a sign that the precise solar activity timetable remains subject to some uncertainty.
This nuance matters. The Sun will not suddenly “turn” its poles on a specific summer day. The process unfolds over time; the two hemispheres may not react simultaneously, and polarity may remain disordered for an extended period. The new polar observations from Solar Orbiter allow researchers to monitor this transition almost in real time and could help scientists better anticipate the coming solar activity cycles.
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