October 19, 2004
-
This from NASA:David
Hathaway is a solar physicist. He noticed last week that for the
first time since January 28, there were no sunspots visible on our
sun. He says this is a sign.It is sooner than would be expected, based on the average time of eleven years from minimum to minimum.
“Contrary
to popular belief,” says Hathaway, “the solar cycle is not precisely 11
years long.” Its length, measured from minimum to minimum, varies: “The
shortest cycles are 9 years, and the longest ones are about 14 years.”
What makes a cycle long or short? Researchers aren’t sure. “We won’t
even know if the current cycle is long or short–until it’s over,” he
says.What it means for communications on earth and for astronauts outside
the atmosphere is a relief from the disruptions caused by sunspots and
radiation storms. What it means for us living in polar regions is
no aurora… a darker winter.
Comments (5)
I find that very interesting……sorry about no aurora, though.
man, this is gonna be an odd winter for all of us, the cold chill you can feel in your bones in cleveland set in way too early this year.. and no aurora for those of us in the north who get to catch glimpses when its just right either.. i need to see how many pairs of warm socks ive got..
it’s going to be cold, isn’t it?
i can already feel the heat coming off your wood stove…and the smoky smell…
sigh
wish i had a fireplace sometimes. or a woodburning stove.
Ghost hunters say ghost hauntings correspond with sunspots. (?) High activity means more stuff in the air for them to manifest with, supposedly.
Thanks also for the link you sent me recently. Not certain if it applies to my brother, but I think some form of it does.
This is interesting too…. I know very little about actual astronomy…