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Science & Technology
Have we reached solar minimum? The sun has been without spots for 16 consecutive days - and it could lead to magnetic storms that interrupt air travel, satellites and power grids
2019-06-06
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news]
  • A solar minimum, which occurs every 11 years, has begun, according to NASA

  • They mark a period of reduced activity on the otherwise violent sun's surface

  • At the cycle's peak, solar maximum, the sun is continually peppered with spots

  • The minimum means more energy is being thrown thrown out into space and towards the Earth leading to magnetic storms
Also from the Daily Mail:
Sun's 11 year cycle of activity is shaped by the gravitational pull of Venus, Earth, and Jupiter lining up - and they shift our star's plasma by just ONE MILLIMETRE, experts say
  • 11-year cycle of the sun's activity matches up well with the 11.07 year event of the three planets aligning in a specific way.
Posted by:Skidmark

#10  Two interesting things about Dr. Zharkova's work:
1) it is based on a statistical analysis of solar activity, NOT the predictions of a computer model.
2) Rather than predicting generic gloom and doom that *could* happen in the future, she makes a specific, testable prediction - that the next few years will be very cold. As she says, we will see if she is right.

As tw points out, this is not your usual every 11 years solar minimum but a Big-Ass Solar Minimum, like back when the Thames used to freeze over. It's worth watching Dr. Zharkova's presentation rather than filtering the idea through 'journalism'. No offense to their mums, but when it comes to a grasp of science, most journalists lack opposable thumbs.
Posted by: SteveS   2019-06-06 14:56  

#9  First the Mooslims can't spot the moon, now Sun Spots are playing hide and seek? Oh my!
Posted by: Frank G   2019-06-06 14:29  

#8  The every eleven years solar minimum is the basic model. However, periodically there is an extended minimum — y’all will remember the Little Ice Age, while the more technical are thinking about the Maunder Minimum while hoping for something more Dalton-like ...

At the tail end of last year Sarah Hoyt’s blog hosted a post on the latest proposal for an improved model that would account for these extended minima: The Latest on the Double-Dynamo Solar Model, and Dr. Zharkova’s Predictions of a Grand Minimum by Stephanie Osborne.

Bottom line, magnetic storms may not be all we need to worry about.
Posted by: trailing wife   2019-06-06 13:57  

#7  actually, contrary to the article, coronal mass ejections are correlated with sunspot maxima although this correlation is weak and the causation of CMEs is not well understood
Posted by: lord garth   2019-06-06 11:54  

#6  NOAA Sunspot predictions from April 20, 2007 has a range from 2018-2020, so... not news, unless you are a "science" reporter and it's a slow news day, eh?
Posted by: magpie   2019-06-06 11:25  

#5   So what did happen 11 years ago?

Obama was elected?
Posted by: Skidmark   2019-06-06 09:47  

#4  As if millions of quack scientists' and politicians' voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened...to grant and tax monies.

Yep, that's Snark of the Day!
Posted by: SteveS   2019-06-06 09:19  

#3  So what did happen 11 years ago?
Posted by: Seeking Cure For Ignorance   2019-06-06 09:14  

#2  As if millions of quack scientists' and politicians' voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened...to grant and tax monies.

Posted by: Procopius2k   2019-06-06 08:48  

#1  probably need the hysteria watermark
Posted by: chris   2019-06-06 06:58  

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