Prominent Scientists Predict Unusually Strong Solar Cycle, Contradicting Previous Expert Forecast KEY POINTS NCAR scientists believe otherwise, based on their "solar clock" NCAR's findings have received approval from the National Science Foundation A team led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) has predicted that a new sunspot cycle could be one of the strongest on record. According to a report published in Solar Physics, the team -- which includes scientists from the University of Warwick in Coventry, England -- predicts that Sunspot Cycle 25 will have a maximum sunspot number of somewhere between 210 and 260, putting it at the very top of cycles ever observed.