Say goodbye to sunspots?
Say goodbye to sunspots?
Say goodbye to sunspots?
Tag: sunspots
Say goodbye to sunspots?
The Sun is blank again
The Sun is spotless again. By this stage in the ramp up to solar maximum, such things should no longer be happening.
The Sun is spotless again. By this stage in the ramp up to solar maximum, such things should no longer be happening.
The September monthly sunspot graph
The Sun continues to show a reluctance to come out of its solar minimum. Today NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center published its monthly graph, showing the sun’s developing sunspot cycle in comparison with the consensis prediction made by the solar science community in May 2009. As you can see below, actual sunspot activity remains far below what was predicted by the red line.
As I noted when I posted the July and August graphs, the Sun’s ramp up to solar maximum continues to be far slower and weaker than predicted. After two hundred years of watching a vibrant and strong solar cycle, it appears increasingly likely that we are heading towards some quiet time on the Sun.
New sunspots end short blank period on Sun
After a short four day stretch with no sunspots — the first time in months — two new sunspots appeared today. It is very possible that this will be the last time the Sun will be blank for years as it continues to ramp up to its next solar maximum.
After a short four day stretch with no sunspots — the first time in months — two new sunspots appeared today. It is very possible that this will be the last time the Sun will be blank for years as it continues to ramp up to its next solar maximum.
No sunspots, for the first time in months
For the first time in months, the Sun is blank, with no sunspots. This lull should be very temporary, and might very well be the last time we see the Sun so quiet for a long time, as it ramps up to its next solar maximum (even if that solar maximum is very weak).
For the first time in months, the Sun is blank, with no sunspots. This lull should be very temporary, and might very well be the last time we see the Sun so quiet for a long time, as it ramps up to its next solar maximum (even if that solar maximum is very weak).
The August monthly sunspot graph
Waking up is hard to do. Today NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center once again published its monthly graph, showing the progress of the sun’s sunspot cycle in comparison with the consensis prediction made by the solar science community in May 2009.
As I noted when I posted the July graph, the data continues to show that the Sun’s ramp up to solar maximum is far slower and weaker than predicted, despite the stories this week about how Sunday’s coronal mass ejection demonstrates that the sun is “waking up.”
Two predictions of the next solar maximum
Two new predictions of the upcoming solar maximum were published today on the Los Alamos astro-ph preprint webpage. Both call for a weak solar maximum, with one expecting a sunspot number of 92 at maximum while the other predicting a number of 72.
Two new predictions of the upcoming solar maximum were published today on the Los Alamos astro-ph preprint webpage. Both call for a weak solar maximum, with one expecting a sunspot number of 92 at maximum while the other predicting a number of 72.
The sun remains quiet
On July 6 NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center published its monthly graph, showing the progress of the sun’s sunspot cycle in comparison with the consensis prediction made by the solar science community in May 2009.
The graph shows clearly that, despite press-release-journalism stories like this, the sun remains in a very quiet state, with the number of sunspots far less than predicted by the red line on the graph. If these trends persist (as they have for the last three years), the next solar maximum will either be much later than expected or far weaker. In fact, the upcoming solar maximum might very well be the weakest seen in almost two centuries. Note also that the prediction shown on this graph is a significant revision downward from the science community’s earlier prediction from 2007.
On July 6 NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center published its monthly graph, showing the progress of the sun’s sunspot cycle in comparison with the consensis prediction made by the solar science community in May 2009.
The graph shows clearly that, despite press-release-journalism stories like this, the sun remains in a very quiet state, with the number of sunspots far less than predicted by the red line on the graph. If these trends persist (as they have for the last three years), the next solar maximum will either be much later than expected or far weaker. In fact, the upcoming solar maximum might very well be the weakest seen in almost two centuries. Note also that the prediction shown on this graph is a significant revision downward from the science community’s earlier prediction from 2007.