Spotless Sun: Blankest Year of the Space Age

science.nasa.gov ^ | 09.30.2008 | Dr. Tony Phillips

[SpinnerWebb]

Astronomers who count sunspots have announced that 2008 is now the "blankest year" of the Space Age.

As of Sept. 27, 2008, the sun had been blank, i.e., had no visible sunspots, on 200 days of the year. To find a year with more blank suns, you have to go back to 1954, three years before the launch of Sputnik, when the sun was blank 241 times.

"Sunspot counts are at a 50-year low," says solar physicist David Hathaway of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. "We're experiencing a deep minimum of the solar cycle."

[SpinnerWebb]

Brrrr.... this global warming that Algore keeps talking about will sure make for some brisk winters in the years to come!

[steelyourfaith]

 

Beam me to Planet Gore !

[mbynack]

Side effects of Carl Rove’s weather machine. It’s Bush’s fault.

[PreciousLiberty]

First of all, prepare for a very brisk winter this year! The Farmer's Almanac is predicting it, and I think it's spot on.

The Earth has been in a fairly steep cooling trend since 2006, I don't expect it to turn around for some time. The really crazy part is that Solar Cycle 25 (not due for 11-13 years) is expected to be extremely weak by NASA. So, we could well be looking at 20-30 more years of cooling!

It'll be interesting to see things spin as the politicians realize they bet on exactly the wrong horse...not that humans can do much to affect the climate one way or the other.

[silverleaf]

No wonder the Chinese are colonizing Africa

[Mygirlsmom]

not that humans can do much to affect the climate one way or the other.

Oh, come now! I remember in the '70's we were told we were heading into the next Ice Age. Then came the '80's and the era of "Big Hair" and the talk of global cooling disappeared. Coincidence??? I think not!

Time to get the hairspray going again!!! :o)

[syriacus]

On most school days my husband holds astronomy programs for elementary students in his school district.

He used to project an actual image of the sun on the floor. He and the kids would count the spots.

That changed some months back.

[ClearCase_guy]

It'll be interesting to see things spin as the politicians realize they bet on exactly the wrong horse

The politicians will readjust. Fortunately, there is total consensus on how to handle Global Cooling: we must deindustrialize the West, raise taxes, sell carbon offsets, and allow China to take a pass on environmental standards.

[bayliving]

Let It Snow.... Let It Snow.... Let it Snow....

[Evil Slayer]

Now the tree hugger is going to do a 180 and fault us for global cooling. Wonder what he will come up with now? Need more SUVs on the road? Crank up the carbon? This is gonna really get funny. Gore caught up in the upcoming ice age. LOL

[Tarpon]

Yeah, back in the 70s they were talking spreading coal black on the poles to melt them ... My how times change. All but liberals that is, they just move from one generated hysteria hoax to the next.

[theDentist]

We're DOOOOOOMED!!!

[bayliving]

Let’s just hope we don’t have another Mt. Pinatubo type eruption or we ALL could be in trouble!

[Desdemona]

Well, we can't seem to win for losing. My basic question still stands: is SPF 30 enough for daily use?

Seriously, though, anyone know where there's a decent sale on base layers? Sounds like we're going to need them.

[PreciousLiberty]

We’ve had larger eruptions than Pinatubo in both the southern and northern hemispheres over the last year (Chile and the Aleutians). Plus, both the Pacific and Atlantic Multi-Decadal Oscillations are in “cold phase”.

Can’t think of much of anything that’d push temps up...

[WayneS]

“...SPOT on.”

I get it!

That’s a good one.

[nina0113]

It'll be interesting to see things spin as the politicians realize they bet on exactly the wrong horse...not that humans can do much to affect the climate one way or the other.

It's making those guys who predicted a new Ice Age in the 70's look a lot smarter.

How does NASA predict the strength/weakness of an upcoming solar cycle?

[metmom]

This has been one of the nicest summers and (so far) fall, that I can recall in a long time.

The down side is that the Great Lakes are REALLY warm for this time of year. The right conditions mean getting nailed with a lot of lake-effect snow in those areas prone to it.

[AU72]

I’m feeling chill.

[BenLurkin]

Sunspots have disappeared. Algore has pinpointed the cause...