[Just mythoughts]

For more than a year, the sun has been experiencing a lull in activity, marking the end of Solar Cycle 23, which peaked with many furious storms in 2000--2003. "Solar minimum is upon us," he says.

Could someone explain this count? What year did Solar Cycle 1 take place?

[Red Badger]

What year did Solar Cycle 1 take place?

Ask Helen Thomas......

[Red Badger]

From: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/10may_longrange.htm ...A word about solar cycles: Astronomers number each 11-year solar cycle, 1, 2, 3 and so on. For obscure historical reasons, Solar Cycle 1 is a nondescript cycle which peaked in 1760. The most recent cycle, Cycle 23, peaked in 2001 and is coming to an end now....

[dbacks]

[Could someone explain this count? What year did Solar Cycle 1 take place?]

I am not sure when they date the model. But considering the average length of a cycle is 11 years, one can guess the beginning observations go back 250 years or more.

But, in 1957-60 the sunspot numbers were the highest ever recorded. As a result, radio communications were very good at higher frequencies (14-70 MHz).

In addition, the midwest was experiencing extreme winter snows/cold weather. The winters of 70-72 were also extremely bitter. Could it be that by 20012 we will be in the middle of a perceived Global Freezing scare?

Wouldn’t surprise me at all.

[sionnsar]

''For more than a year, the sun has been experiencing a lull in activity, marking the end of Solar Cycle 23, which peaked with many furious storms in 2000--2003. "Solar minimum is upon us," he says.''
Could someone explain this count? What year did Solar Cycle 1 take place?

"Year"? Try "years."

Given that a solar cycle is about 11 years and the 23rd just ended, that means Solar Cycle 1 began 23*11 or 253 years ago. 2007-253 would make that ca 1754. Not unreasonable to think solar observations might have begun by then.

(Wikipedia notes the cycle was discovered mid-1800s, but extrapolated back to the mid-1700s using earlier observations.)

[Rick.Donaldson]

When they started counting sunspots. 1790ish is when solar cycle 1 peaked.

[RightWhale]

Solar magnetic cycles are said to be 11 years, although the full cycle is 22 years.