Sunspot Links, News articles and references:


March 1, 2011

http://solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov/predict.shtml

Current prediction for the next sunspot cycle maximum gives a smoothed sunspot number maximum of about 58 in July of 2013. We are currently over two years into Cycle 24. The predicted size would make this the smallest sunspot cycle in nearly 200 years.


March 12, 2010

Solar 'Current of Fire' Speeds Up

What in the world is the sun up to now?

In today's issue of Science, NASA solar physicist David Hathaway reports that the top of the sun's Great Conveyor Belt has been running at record-high speeds for the past five years.

"I believe this could explain the unusually deep solar minimum we've been experiencing," says Hathaway. "The high speed of the conveyor belt challenges existing models of the solar cycle and it has forced us back to the drawing board......

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2010/12mar_conveyorbelt.htm

Sites:


NASA Solar Physics: Marshall Space Flight Center

The number one go-to site for solar information:  this website has tremendous depth.

http://solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov/SunspotCycle.shtml


NASA: Goddard Space Flight Center: Sun/Climate Center

http://sunclimate.gsfc.nasa.gov/


NOAA/Space Weather Prediction Center: Solar Cycle Progression

http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/SolarCycle/index.html


Royal Observatory of Belgium:  Solar Influences Data Analysis Center: Sunspot Index graphics

http://sidc.oma.be/sunspot-index-graphics/sidc_graphics.php


Solarcycle 24 page

maintained by the Amateur Radio Station VE3EN

This site give daily updates, many visuals, and sunspot trend charts (upper right corner)

http://www.solarcycle24.com/


NCAR:  National Center for Atmospheric Research

NCAR and university scientists work together on research topics in atmospheric chemistry, climate, cloud physics and storms, weather hazards to aviation, and interactions between the sun and Earth.

http://www.ncar.ucar.edu/



March 22, 2009      Chicago Tribune:  WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling

posted on WGN Weather Center Blog

http://blogs.trb.com/news/weather/weblog/wgnweather/












 

Solar Activity Heats Up

April 14, 2011: If you've ever stood in front of a hot stove, watching a pot of water and waiting impatiently for it to boil, you know what it feels like to be a solar physicist.  NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded this X1.5-class solar flare on March 9, 2011.   Back in 2008, the solar cycle plunged into the deepest minimum in nearly a century. Sunspots all but vanished, solar flares subsided, and the sun was eerily quiet.

"Ever since, we've been waiting for solar activity to pick up," says Richard Fisher, head of the Heliophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington DC. "It's been three long years."  Quiet spells on the sun are nothing new.

They come along every 11 years or so—it's a natural part of the solar cycle. This particular solar minimum, however, was lasting longer than usual, prompting some researchers to wonder if it would ever end.

News flash: The pot is starting to boil. "Finally," says Fisher, "we are beginning to see some action."......read on.

Oct. 30, 2009

How Long Will Our Sun Remain Quiet and Cosmic Rays Increase?

Earthfiles.com   by Linda Moulton Howe

An interview with Dr. David Hathaway, NASA Heliospheric Team Leader:  “We don’t have records prior to 1874 that give us details about the sun.
Compared to the past 130 years, our sun now is unprecedented as far as
how slow this Solar Cycle 24 is taking off - or not taking off!”

http://www.earthfiles.com/news.php?ID=1635&category=Science

Sept. 3, 2009

NASA Press release:  Are Sunspots Disappearing?

The sun is in the pits of the deepest solar minimum in nearly a century. Weeks and sometimes whole months go by without even a single tiny sunspot. The quiet has dragged out for more than two years, prompting some observers to wonder, are sunspots disappearing?

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/03sep_sunspots.htm?list1291937


August 23, 2009 

Solar update: Heading towards sunspot blank days record for 21st Century

The sunspot-free string will be 44 days as of August 24...only 8 days from tying the sunspot-free consecutive day record during what has already been the most drawn-out solar minimum for just about all humans living on Earth (since 1913).  However, solar physics is still a science very much on the frontier of discovery. I have read some blogs where contributors to “Web” thoughts are quite harsh and quick to weigh in that these missed forecasts show that scientists haven’t a clue about what the sun is doing.

Such viewpoints illustrate poor understanding of what science is all about. It’s a discovery process.....

Dallas Weather Examiner:  Steve LaNore

http://www.examiner.com/x-5182-Dallas-Weather-Examiner~y2009m8d23-Solar-update-Heading-towards-sunspot-blank-days-record-for-21st-Century

June 18, 2009

Live Science:  Supercomputers Give Inside Look at Sunspots

"This is the first time we have a model of an entire sunspot,"...

http://www.livescience.com/space/090618-sunspot-simulation.html


June 17, 2009

NASA Science News

Where have all the sunspots gone? Scientists studying a jet stream deep inside the sun may have found the answer.   FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/17jun_jetstream.htm?list1291937


May 5, 2009

Fox News:  Quiet Sun May Trigger Global Cooling

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,518958,00.html


May 4, 2009

National Geographic News:  Sun Oddly Quiet -- Hints at Next “Little Ice Age”?

A prolonged lull in solar activity has astrophysicists glued to their telescopes waiting to see what the sun will do next—and how Earth's climate might respond.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/05/090504-sun-global-cooling.html


April 14, 2009

Harvard Crimson:  Sunspots May Cause Climate Fluctuations

Dr. Soon:  Harvard astrophysicist says recent cooler temps are a result of fewer sunspots

http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=527650


April 11, 2009 

Debate continues on Earth climate change and global warming

Interviews on enid.com

http://www.enidnews.com/localnews/local_story_101232610.html

Sunspots and the Sun: This section of The Old Farmer’s Almanac web site does a very good job of explaining the basics: What Is Solar Activity? What is a Solar Cycle? How Does Solar Activity Affect Weather and Earth? Predictions for Solar Cycle 24 Click here. http://www.almanac.com/sunspotupdate http://www.almanac.com/sunspotupdatehttp://www.almanac.com/sunspotupdateshapeimage_4_link_0shapeimage_4_link_1

Sunspots