Sun Missing It’s Spots

Posted on May 10, 2009  Comments (2)

image of sun with sun spots and withoutImage courtesy of SOHO, shows an image of the sun on July 19th 2000 and March 18th 2009.

Sun Oddly Quiet

The sun is the least active it’s been in decades and the dimmest in a hundred years. The lull is causing some scientists to recall the Little Ice Age, an unusual cold spell in Europe and North America, which lasted from about 1300 to 1850. The coldest period of the Little Ice Age, between 1645 and 1715, has been linked to a deep dip in solar storms known as the Maunder Minimum.

Sunspots, which can be visible without a telescope, are dark regions that indicate intense magnetic activity on the sun’s surface. Such solar storms send bursts of charged particles hurtling toward Earth that can spark auroras, disrupt satellites, and even knock out electrical grids.

Related: Solar Eruption photoSolar StormsBiggest Black Hole’s Mass = 18 Billion Suns

2 Responses to “Sun Missing It’s Spots”

  1. Anonymous
    May 14th, 2009 @ 1:55 pm

    I had no idea that the magnetic activity of the Sun was something that could actually disrupt a satellite??

  2. Curious Cat Science and Engineering Blog » Why Wasn’t the Earth Covered in Ice 4 Billion Years Ago – When the Sun was Dimmer
    April 2nd, 2010 @ 12:58 pm

    […] Sun Missing It’s Spots – Solar Storms – Why is it Colder at Higher Elevations? – Magnetic Portals […]

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