These ejected particles are what we call the “solar wind.”You can see the effect of the solar wind when it hits a comet. But what causes the solar wind to get so worked up every 11 years? Well, like Earth, the sun has a magnetic field, but it’s extremely unstable. This causes its magnetic field to twist and warp, and every 11 years or so it actually flips and reverses polarity. When electrical charges are zipping around, they can be pushed and pulled by a magnetic field.