NASA, NOAA, and the International Solar Cycle Prediction Panel have confirmed the Sun has reached solar maximum, slightly earlier than expected in its 11-year cycle. Thanks to the solar probes, telescopes, and missions currently studying our star, this is not the solar maximum of 2014, we can now study it in detail in ways never seen before. The solar maximum is the moment the Sun reaches peak activity in the solar cycle, with an impressive number of sunspots on its surface and releasing more radiation, solar flares, coronal mass ejections, and other explosive events that are all happening wit…