[rktman]

...."The main driver of all weather and climate, the entity which occupies 99.86% of all of the mass in our solar system,...." Someone needs to shut these heretics up. How dare they claim that the stupid sun is the main driver for all weather and climate. We all KNOW it's SUVs and See Uh Oh 2. Somebody's gonna pay for these SUN lies.

[ETL]

I believe they had predicted several years ago that this cycle would be a weak one.

[RhoTheta]

How terribly embarrassing for the Global Warmists.

[Diogenesis]

The White Mosque: “Bush’s fault.”

Gore and the DNC: “It is white people’s fault”.

[C210N]

Needs a catchy name...

We’ve had Daltan Minimum, Maunder Minimum, Spörer Minimum and Homeric minimum.

What say you?

Algore Minumum? HockeyStick Minimum? ManBearPig Minimum?

[dp0622]

I’m going outside to stare at it now let you now how it turns out

[stboz]

Doesn't look too blank right now:

http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/assets/img/latest/latest_1024_HMIIF.jpg

[Blood of Tyrants]

The sun can’t be causing globull warming. It’s too far away!

[PGR88]

Time to sell stocks!

[ETL]

An increase in solar activity, which is primarily magnetic in nature, may be responsible for a decrease in clouds, at least according to some researches. A decrease in cloud cover of course means more sunlight makes it to the surface, thus leading to an increase in temps. An increase in solar activity also means less galactic cosmic rays make into the atmosphere. GCRs are believed to contribute to cloud formation.

Cosmic Rays Hit Space Age High

NASA.gov
Sept 29, 2009

"We're experiencing the deepest solar minimum in nearly a century," says Dean Pesnell of the Goddard Space Flight Center, "so it is no surprise that cosmic rays are at record levels for the Space Age [i.e. past 50+ years or so -etl]."

Galactic cosmic rays come from outside the solar system. They are subatomic particles--mainly protons but also some heavy nuclei--accelerated to almost light speed by distant supernova explosions. Cosmic rays cause "air showers" of secondary particles when they hit Earth's atmosphere; they pose a health hazard to astronauts; and a single cosmic ray can disable a satellite if it hits an unlucky integrated circuit.

The sun's magnetic field is our first line of defense against these highly-charged, energetic particles. The entire solar system from Mercury to Pluto and beyond is surrounded by a bubble of magnetism called "the heliosphere." It springs from the sun's inner magnetic dynamo and is inflated to gargantuan proportions by the solar wind. When a cosmic ray tries to enter the solar system, it must fight through the heliosphere's outer layers; and if it makes it inside, there is a thicket of magnetic fields waiting to scatter and deflect the intruder.

An artist's concept of the heliosphere, a magnetic bubble that partially protects the solar system from cosmic rays.

"At times of low solar activity, this natural shielding is weakened, and more cosmic rays are able to reach the inner solar system," explains Pesnell."
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/29sep_cosmicrays.htm

[BenLurkin]

Catastrophism ping

[glock rocks]

Space Weather Enthusiasts Dashboard:

http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/communities/space-weather-enthusiasts

[ETL]

From NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory's "Not So Frequently Asked Questions" section:

Q-Does the number of sunspots have any effect on the climate here on Earth?

A-Sunspots are slightly cooler areas on the surface of the Sun, due to the intense magnetic fields, so they radiate a little less energy than the surroundings. However, there are usually nearby areas associated with the sunspots that are a little hotter (called falculae), and they more than compensate. The result is that there is a little bit more radiation coming from the Sun when it has more sunspots, but the effect is so small that it has very little impact on the weather and climate on Earth.

However, there are more important indirect effects: sunspots are associated with what we call "active regions", with large magnetic structures containing very hot material (being held in place by the magnetism). This causes more ultraviolet (or UV) radiation (the rays that give you a suntan or sunburn), and extreme ultraviolet radiation (EUV). These types of radiation have an impact on the chemistry of the upper atmosphere (e.g. producing ozone). Since some of these products act as greenhouse gases, the number of sunspots (through association with active regions) may influence the climate in this way.

Many active regions produce giant outflows of material that are called Coronal Mass Ejections. These ejections drag with them some of the more intense magnetic fields that are found in the active regions. The magnetic fields act as a shield for high-energy particles coming from various sources in our galaxy (outside the solar system). These "cosmic rays" (CRs) cause ionization of molecules in the atmosphere, and thereby can cause clouds to form (because the ionized molecules or dust particle can act as "seeds" for drop formation).

If clouds are formed very high in the atmosphere, the net result is a heating of the Earth - it acts as a "blanket" that keeps warmth in.

If clouds are formed lower down in the atmosphere, they reflect sunlight better than they keep heat inside, so the net result is cooling.

Which processes are dominant is still a matter of research.

http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/classroom/notsofaq.html#SUNSPOT_CLIMATE

[bigbob]

24 hours? What kind of solar science do these guys practice? Last week, last month, there were numerous spots and CMEs, some M and X class flares in the past few months.

Not to say this cycle isn’t weak, but the frame of reference has to be a little longer than 24 hours.

[mikrofon]

[WKUHilltopper]

“Cooler” summer?

[ETL]

The Center for Sun-Climate Research at the DNSC (Danish National Space Center) investigates the connection between variations in the intensity of cosmic rays and climatic changes on Earth. This field of research has been given the name 'cosmoclimatology'"..."Cosmic ray intensities – and therefore cloudiness – keep changing because the Sun's magnetic field varies in its ability to repel cosmic rays coming from the Galaxy, before they can reach the Earth." :

http://www.space.dtu.dk/english/Research/Climate_and_Environment

_________________________________________________

"The authors explain their theory that sub-atomic particles from exploded stars have more effect on the climate than manmade CO2."
http://www.sciencedaily.com/books/t/1840468157-the_chilling_stars_the_new_theory_of_climate_change.htm

Amazon Books: "The Chilling Stars, 2nd Edition: A Cosmic View of Climate Change"
http://www.amazon.com/Chilling-Stars-2nd-Cosmic-Climate/dp/1840468661 zs90]

[rbbeachkid]

Damn Global Warming. Now it’s affecting the sun. See, they warned us! /sarc

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Looks like another crappy Winter for the Northern climes again next year. I think I’ll go shopping for a new snowblower. Or move to Tennessee.

[Grampa Dave]

Soon we will not hear about Gorebull Warming.

The new buzz words from the mediots will be Climate Change!

The same evil Americans who caused Gorebull Warming will be the cause of Climate change, aka freezing our butts!

[Tenacious 1]

In addition, research studies in just the past couple of decades have found a complicated relationship between solar activity, cosmic rays, and clouds on Earth. This research suggests that in times of low solar activity where solar winds are typically weak; more cosmic rays reach the Earth’s atmosphere which, in turn, has been found to lead to an increase in certain types of clouds that can act to cool the Earth.

Let me get this straight. When the sun puts out less radiation, the earth is not as warm? Is this 2nd grade science?