Solar Cycle Screensaver
The Solar Cycle screensaver is a dial of the Sun's current sunspot number set against the 11-year solar cycle, with the rise and fall of recent years traced beneath, from NOAA SWPC. It's free, runs in your browser, and ESC exits.
How the Solar Cycle Dial screensaver works
The saver reads NOAA SWPC's observed solar-cycle indices — the monthly sunspot number that tracks the Sun's activity.
It shows the latest value on a gauge whose needle eases from a quiet zero toward a busy solar maximum.
Beneath the dial, a sparkline traces the rise and fall of the sunspot number over the last several years.
It refreshes a few times a day as new monthly figures are published.
A worked example
Near solar maximum the needle swings high — a sunspot number well over 100 — the sparkline beneath climbing steeply through recent years, a clear picture of where the Sun sits in its eleven-year heartbeat.
Settings & tips
- Accent recolours the dial and trace.
- Background sets the panel backdrop.
- The sparkline shows roughly the last thirteen years.
Frequently asked questions
- Is the data live?
- Yes. It uses NOAA SWPC's observed solar-cycle indices, refreshed a few times a day, so the dial shows the latest sunspot number.
- What is the sunspot number?
- A count of sunspots and groups on the Sun — a long-running measure of solar activity that rises and falls every eleven years.
- What is the solar cycle?
- The Sun's roughly eleven-year cycle between quiet minimum and active maximum, driven by its churning magnetic field.
- Does it need a key?
- No. NOAA's space-weather data is free and key-less; the saver only needs an internet connection.
- Is it free?
- Yes — free, no download, in your browser.