@proceedings {841,
	title = {On Final Approach To Solar Maximum: Testing A Hypothesis In Real Time (Keynote)},
	year = {2024},
	month = {03/2024},
	publisher = {HamSCI},
	address = {Cleveland, OH},
	abstract = {<p>A bit more than ten years ago we made a discovery. We identified, and then archaeologically re-identified, a relationship between magnetic objects on the Sun at a range of spatial scales and the Sun{\textquoteright}s 22 year Magnetic (or Hale) Cycle. That pattern (unfortunately) is called the "extended solar cycle". Further, that investigation identified a specific event that occurs at the very end of Hale Cycles, the {\textquoteright}terminator,{\textquoteright} as being a critical component NECESSARY to explain how the Hale Cycle shapes the Sun{\textquoteright}s 11(-ish) year activity cycle. Fast forward a decade and we have successfully identified the terminator events going back beyond the earliest photography of the Sun (1860) to the mid-eighteenth century. Those 24 events permitted a forecast of Sunspot Cycle 25 to be made. That forecast became a {\textquoteright}litmus test{\textquoteright} for what we understand about the solar activity cycle and the mechanism that generates and sustains the Sun{\textquoteright}s large-scale magnetic field. Why? Because the forecast we arrived at was 100\% greater than that resulting from an assessment of the spectrum of models and forecasts in the community. We have been testing our hypothesis of the Sun{\textquoteright}s magnetism in real time since 2019. In this presentation we{\textquoteright}ll discuss the present status and talk about where things could go from here.</p>
},
	author = {Scott W. McIntosh}
}
