Solar Activity Remains Extremely Low
Since early this year, sunspot numbers (storms on the sun) have greatly decreased. With the exception of some very slight solar activity from July 18-20, 2008, there have no sunspots observed at all since late May. The month of August was completely devoid of any solar storms for the first time in 95 years.
Some scientists are concerned that the recent decline in our sun’s activity is unusual and could persist. Others thought that August and September were critical months as our sun was expected to start seeing an increase in sunspots based on previous long-term cycles.
Our sun may seem unwavering in the sky, but it does have a "heartbeat" of sorts. There are pulsations between dimmer and brighter phases so slow that it only "beats" approximately nine times each century. The total energy varies about 0.1% over each 11-year cycle from high to low activity. But, it seems that the slight variance in the sun’s phases does play a critical role in our Earth’s environment.
For example, there has been a correlation between the sun’s inactive phase and the recent global cooling. During the peak of the Earth’s warming in the late 1990s and early 2000s, solar activity was considered by many to be unusually high, enough to actually damage satellites and other communication devices.
The last time the sun was this quiet for an extended period was between 1645 and 1715, a period astronomers call the "Maunder Minimum". During those 70 years, the face of the Sun was nearly blank of sunspots, or solar storms, and broke away from its normal 11-year cycle. At the same time, Europe was dealing with extreme cold and the Thames River in London froze solid. They even held winter fairs on the ice. Glaciers also advanced in the Alps and the northern sea ice expanded. By the early 19th Century, for reasons no one understands, the sun returned to its familiar 11-year sunspot cycle and things began to slowly warm up on the planet.
However, NASA solar physicist David Hathaway stated in a recent article, "The ongoing lull in sunspot numbers is well within historical norms for the solar cycle. The sun is now near the low point of its 11-year activity cycle. We call this Solar Minimum. It’s the period of quiet that separates one Solar Max from another."
As early stated, during solar maximums, huge sunspots and intense solar flares create auroras. Satellites are damaged due to high radiation and there are numerous radio blackouts. This occurred in 2000, 2001 and again in mid 2005.
While sunspots may be regions of cooler temperatures, the solar storms often produce violent solar flares and a release of increased energy from the sun. These events can damage satellites and even alter their orbits.
Some scientists are concerned that the sun is entering a cold phase, which is a major turnaround to the extremely high sunspot activity that was at a 1,000-year peak.
By Meteorologist Randy Mann
