6/3/04 UC Berkeley-
"For 70 years, from 1645 until 1714, early astronomers reported almost no sunspot activity. The number of sunspots - cooler areas on the sun that appear dark against the brighter surroundings - dropped a thousandfold, according to some estimates. Though activity on the sun ebbs and flows today in an 11-year cycle, it has not been that quiet since. "
Sunspots are pretty important because of the potential impact they have on our climate, space missions, communications satellites, etc. There have been a few recent press releases about sunspots because of the Denver meeting of American Astronomical Society (AAS).
Another interesting one: "Groundbreaking Research To Improve Forecasts Of Sunspot Cycle" Science Daily, 6/1/04.
"Using a new computer model of the Sun, scientists have begun work on a groundbreaking forecast of the next cycle of sunspots. Mausumi Dikpati of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) announced new research leading to an improved forecast of cycle 24"
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment