July 06, 2004

Sunspots

Being a regular watcher of Space Weather, this story posted on Drudge caught my eye today:

A new analysis shows that the Sun is more active now than it has been at anytime in the previous 1,000 years.

Scientists based at the Institute for Astronomy in Zurich used ice cores from Greenland to construct a picture of our star's activity in the past.

They say that over the last century the number of sunspots rose at the same time that the Earth's climate became steadily warmer.

The scientists were quick to add that fossil fuels being burned only applifies this so as not to rock the boat too much.

But there's more:

In particular, it has been noted that between about 1645 and 1715, few sunspots were seen on the Sun's surface.

This period is called the Maunder Minimum after the English astronomer who studied it.

Ice cores record climate trends back beyond human measurements
It coincided with a spell of prolonged cold weather often referred to as the "Little Ice Age". Solar scientists strongly suspect there is a link between the two events - but the exact mechanism remains elusive.

Let's see...lots of sunspots, it gets warmer. Less sunspots, it gets colder. Hmmm...I think we may have found that elusive mechanism.

So, the sun can cause global warming, cancer, and it emits radiation on a regular basis. There's only one thing to do. Somebody get ELF on the phone! We've got to destroy the sun!

Comments:

Please Note! Failure to abide by the following may result in your comments being edited or deleted: Remain on topic. Foul language and/or personal attacks are not permitted. Excessive links (more than three per thread) must be approved first. If you do include a link in your comment, make sure it is a short link (go to tinyurl.com if it is too long). Try to keep comments to 125 words or less. Thank you.