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what determines the sun's solar cycle, like at a high point, and then a low point?

Hi.
The solar cycle is a long term effect. Sometimes when people hear scientists use the term "solar maximum" or "solar minimum" they thing we mean a particular very short moment in time, but actually they are braod ranges in the cycle or a year or more. There are some plots here, one showing the current cycle:
http://science.msfc.nasa.gov/ssl/pad/solar/images/ssn_predict_l.gif
and another showing the sunspot number for the last few hundred years:
http://www.spaceweather.com/glossary/sunspotnumber.html

You can see from the second one that the cycle is something that repeats itself over and over. You can calculate the length by measuring peak to peak or minimum to minimum. It is not exactly eleven years and not always exactly the same.

We are not sure what makes it that length. w believe it has to do with flows that generate the magnetic field beneath the Sun's surface.

Does that answer your question?

Terry