UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — IIT-Kanpur team develops new way to predict solar cycles
Q1. The data-driven 3D solar dynamo model for predicting solar cycles reported in January 2026 was developed primarily at which one of the following Indian institutions?
- A. Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bengaluru
- B. Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune
- C. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur
- D. Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital
Q2. The IIT-Kanpur team's new method for predicting solar cycles, reported in early 2026, was published in which one of the following peer-reviewed journals?
- A. Nature Astronomy
- B. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS)
- C. Solar Physics
- D. Astrophysical Journal Letters
Q3. In the context of solar-cycle studies referenced by the IIT-Kanpur work, the term 'butterfly diagram' refers to which one of the following?
- A. A plot showing the migration of sunspots from mid-latitudes (~±35°) towards the solar equator over the course of an ~11-year cycle.
- B. A schematic of the Sun's magnetic polarity reversal occurring over a 22-year Hale cycle.
- C. A diagram mapping the trajectories of coronal mass ejections from the Sun to Earth's magnetosphere.
- D. A representation of solar irradiance variation across visible and ultraviolet wavelengths during a cycle.
Q4. How many years of continuous surface magnetic-field observations (from SOHO and the Solar Dynamics Observatory) were fed into the IIT-Kanpur team's data-driven 3D solar dynamo model reported in January 2026?
- A. 11 years
- B. 22 years
- C. 30 years
- D. 50 years