![]() Three times in the past the regular 11-year solar cycle has gone on an extended vacation - at the same time as cool periods on Earth. There are questions about what this means for Earth's climate. That indicates that there will be little or delayed activity in that cycle, said Hill, who tracks jet streams. Jet streams on the sun's surface and below are also early indicators of solar storm activity, and they have not formed yet for the 2020 cycle. If they continue on the current pace, their magnetic fields will be too weak to become spots as of 2022 or so, he said. ![]() Matt Penn of the National Solar Observatory, another study co-author, said sunspot magnetic fields have been steadily decreasing in strength since 1998. That also means the cycle after that is uncertain, he said. That 'rush to the poles' would have happened by now, but it hasn't and there's no sign of it yet. ![]() The streamers normally become busy around the sun's poles a few years before peak solar storm activity. Mr Altrock also thinks the current cycle won't have much solar activity, after tracking streamers from the solar corona, the sun's outer atmosphere seen during eclipses. Scientists predict the solar cycle starting in 2020 will see sunspots disappear altogether for a period of decadesĪt peak times, like 2001, there are sunspots every day and more frequent solar flares and storms that could disrupt satellites.Įarlier this month, David Hathaway, Nasa's top solar storm scientist, predicted that the current cycle, which started around 2009, will be the weakest in a century. ![]() The sun has already been unusually quiet for about four years with few sunspots - higher magnetic areas that appear as dark spots. ![]()
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