When solar activity reached an all-time low in 2008, astronomers reasonably figured the Sun was entering into a period of historically low activity. They were wrong.

New research published September 8 in The Astrophysical Journal Letters suggests that 2008 marked the beginning of a steady increase in solar activity. To be clear, this “reversal” extends beyond the well-known 11-year cycles the Sun typically follows. Specifically, the researchers found a slow uptick in many of the Sun’s key “vitals,” such as solar wind frequency and the strength of the magnetic field, since 2008.

“All signs were pointing to the Sun going into a prolonged phase of low activity,” said Jamie Jasinski, study lead author and a NASA researcher at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in a statement . “So it was a s

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