Posted on 09/15/2010 9:38:58 AM PDT by Pyro7480
Scientists studying sunspots for the past 2 decades have concluded that the magnetic field that triggers their formation has been steadily declining. If the current trend continues, by 2016 the sun's face may become spotless and remain that way for decadesa phenomenon that in the 17th century coincided with a prolonged period of cooling on Earth.
Sunspots appear when upwellings of the sun's magnetic field trap ionized plasmaor electrically charged, superheated gason the surface. Normally, the gas would release its heat and sink back below the surface, but the magnetic field inhibits this process. From Earth, the relatively cool surface gas looks like a dark blemish on the sun.
...[S]cientists have long known that the sun goes through an 11-year cycle, in which the number of sunspots spikes during a period called the solar maximum and dropssometimes to zeroduring a time of inactivity called the solar minimum.
The last solar minimum should have ended last year, but something peculiar has been happening. Although solar minimums normally last about 16 months, the current one has stretched over 26 monthsthe longest in a century. One reason...is that the magnetic field strength of sunspots appears to be waning.
Since 1990, solar astronomers Matthew Penn and William Livingston...have been studying the magnetic strength of sunspots....Penn and Livingston conclude that the average magnetic field strength of sunspots has declined from about 2700 gaussthe average strength of Earth's field is less than 1 gaussto about 2000 gauss. The reasons for the decrease are not clearly understood, but if the trend continues, sunspot field strength will drop to 1500 gauss by as early as 2016. Because 1500 gauss is the minimum required to produce sunspots, Livingston says, at that level they would no longer be possible.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.sciencemag.org ...
Don't worry - folks above your pay grade are working on that...
I love winter!!!!
Does this now mean that we will have to burn more fossil
fuels to offset the cooling of the earth?
By oil stock.... POST-HASTE!!!
Don't worry, be happy! Think of all the ice the polar bears will have
to live on. Heck, they may be roaming as far south as St Louis!
If cooling begins, the current crop of world "scientists" will have been exposed as advocates of a religion. With current computer technologies, the identities of these advocates will be known for eternity. But more importantly the identities will be know in current times so scarce government research monies can be funneled away from those who posited opinion as science.
NOOOOOOOOOO!
I LOVE GLOBAL WARMING!
I didn’t get the boat out all last summer because it was too cold yet I was told it was the hottest summer on record.
I’m going to have to go burn some tires to bring back global warming...
Don’t be silly. Al Gore told me that the sun has nothing to do with temperatures here on earth. How could the Nobel Laureate be wrong on so simple a question?
I call BS. Everyone knows that SUVs warm the earth, not the sun.
The question now is how do we use this information to redistribute global warmth?
And what makes anyone think it will be a "little ice age"? I believe we're past due for a major one starting up this century.
Very good.
Thanks!!
I wish I knew the answer to your question!
Maybe Al-Goracle can buy me a new snow blower with the money he’s scammed.
does that mean I get to keep my good light bulbs, drive my truck and pay less for electricity?
It’s almost time for the next glaciation.
LOLLOLOLOL!
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