Posted on 07/22/2014 11:30:01 PM PDT by BenLurkin
A few weeks ago it was teeming with sunspots, as you would expect since we are supposed to be in the middle of solar maximum -- the time in the sun's 11-year cycle when it is the most active.
But now, there is hardly a sunspot in sight. If you look closely at the image above, taken on July 18 by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, you will see a tiny smidge of brown just right of center where a small sunspot appears to be developing. But just one day before, there truly was nothing. It was a totally spotless day.
...
"It all underlines that solar physicists really don't know what the heck is happening on the sun," Phillips said. "We just don't know how to predict the sun, that is the take away message of this event."
...
And it's not like astronomers have never seen the sun this quiet before. Three years ago, on Aug. 14, 2011, it was completely free of sunspots. And, as Phillips points out, that year turned out to have relatively high solar activity overall with several X-class flares. So in that case, the spotless sun was just a "temporary intermission," as he writes on his website.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
I thought we were in the cycle of solar inactivity........thus the colder weather. I think the author is wrong......
So.........sunspots cause volcanos.
Just kidding!
Actually the opposite.
Danish physicist Henrik Svensmark (professor in the Division of Solar System Physics at the Danish National Space Institute) has a theory that increased cosmic rays hitting the upper atmosphere create more ions, which act as nuclei for cloud formation. More clouds equal more sunlight being reflected, and lower temperatures.
A layman's summary of the theory is here
Shot down by the Russians?
Actually, if the solar magnetic field is shifting, and there's any degree of coupling with the earth's magnetic field, I could see physical effects happening as a result (earthquakes, volcanoes).
Any physicists on the thread care to chime in?
Have bookmarked the site and plan to do some reading.
Please don't compare Canute and Obama.
King Canute did this demonstration to prove his point that, although he was a King, he had no power over the elements, and that only God could control them.
Our firewood supplier has a lower supply then usual. Orders in early June were quoted as deliverable by 8/1. That is now extended to 9/1. Reason: Amish source has less than usual, due to less business and Amish source also sells retail firewood.
Our propane supplier hasn’t offered either *summer fill* prices or a locked-in price for years, now. Last year, during the shortage, the price changed daily. Most of us are still paying off winter bills.
For those who switched to electric heat, the cost per KwH increases slowly, but the *facility fee*, the cost of service before any usage at all, increases steadily, month by month. Fees and taxes also increase steadily, albeit in small increments (which add up over time, of course).
Friends in town report high natural gas costs. $350-$500 month combined heat/electric bills are common. The $350 is for a small house turned into a business. The $500 is for a large Victorian, but only two people live there and when they went on a 2-week vacation, the bill barely budged.
The State Media abounds with articles telling us how being cold and sleeping cold both contribute to weight loss.
There is no escape.
We’re roughly at sun cycle max just now.
It’s unusual to have spotless days at cyclemax.
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/SolarCycle/f10.gif
Not sunspots, but a proxy of cycle strength as well.
If the weather is colder at cyclemax, imagine what it will be in 5-6 years when we’re at a cyclemin again.
Good, optimistic thinking.
Any warmth from green house CO2 gas density could be countered by all the black box project the Euroweenies and US have been doing to intentionally cool the planet.
It’s pretty cool for July in Chicago. 65 degrees right now.
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