Solar Wind Loses Power, Hits 50-year Low

science.nasa.gov ^ | 09.23.2008 | Dr. Tony Phillips

[SpinnerWebb]

In a briefing today at NASA headquarters, solar physicists announced that the solar wind is losing power.

"The average pressure of the solar wind has dropped more than 20% since the mid-1990s," says Dave McComas of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. "This is the weakest it's been since we began monitoring solar wind almost 50 years ago.

[dangus]

Any physicists know if my leap to supposing this correlates with sunspot activity is unwarranted?

[Daveinyork]

Now, all the hot wind is coming from Washington, and the national campaigns.

[ClearCase_guy]

Drill here! Drill now!

... oops, wrong thread?

[theDentist]

Bush’s Fault!

[Nervous Tick]

Silly me! From the headline, I thought “Solar Wind” was a NASDAQ stock.

[DogBarkTree]

Arrrghh!. You beat me to it.

[uptoolate]

I have now switched to selling “Solar Wind Offset “Credits”.

[uptoolate]

I have now switched to selling “Solar Wind Offset “Credits”.

[TonyInOhio]

Wait for it...

Bush's Fault

[chaos_5]

If those pesky global warming deniers are right about the correlation between solar wind, cosmic rays, and cloud formation, we are in for a cold spell. Better stock up on heating oil!

[Red Badger]

Bush’s FAULT!!!!.....(was I first?)......

[ajwharton]

That was my first impression also, but then again, all I learned about celestial mechanics I learned from Carl Sagan in Cosmos.

[blam]

I’m sure glad I bought solar wind insurance.

[Boonie]

It’s because of all those SUV’s the Sun people have started driving around.....

[BikerJoe]

Drill here! Drill now! ... oops, wrong thread?

No, it's absolutely the right thread, because all this portends a cold period (possibly prolonged) coming up that will require additional energy for heating, etc.

[PapaBear3625]

Any physicists know if my leap to supposing this correlates with sunspot activity is unwarranted?

There is a strong correlation between sunspot activity and solar wind.

Solar wind and the solar magnetic field help keep cosmic rays from hitting the earth. Cosmic rays help cloud formation. Increased cloud formation reduces the amount of sunlight hitting the earth and produces global cooling.

[spodefly]

In a briefing today at NASA headquarters, solar physicists announced that the solar wind is losing power.

I attribute the decline to the loss of Sun worshipers, the vicious anti-Sun campaign of dermatologists, and the all take/no give stance of solar power enthusiasts.

The Sun is sick of our crap.

[Rick.Donaldson]

Yes and no...

I would say that the lack of sunspots (oh and there’s ONE!) is due to the quieting of the sun, this in turn also shows that the solar winds will slow as well. Whether the two are directly related remains to be seen.

However, the RELATIONSHIP of solar wind activity and sunspot activity are both obviously connected directly to the activity of the sun, so, they are connected albeit somewhat indirectly.

[LonePalm]

Silly me! From the headline, I thought “Solar Wind” was a NASDAQ stock.

No, but they are an interesting jazz group.

Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)