Slashdot Mirror
"All Quiet Alert" Issued For the Sun
radioweather writes "The phrase sounds like an oxymoron, and maybe it is, but the sun is extremely quiet right now, so much in fact that the Solar Influences Data Center in Belgium issued an unusual 'All quiet alert' on October 5th. Since then the sunspot number has remained at zero — solar cycle 24 has not yet started. There are signs that the sun's activity is slowing. The solar wind has been decreasing in speed, and this is yet another indicator of a slowing in the sun's magnetic dynamo. There is talk of an extended solar minimum occurring. There are a number of theories and a couple of dozen predictions about the intensity solar cycle 24 which has yet to start. One paper by Penn & Livingstonin in 2006 concludes: 'If [trends] continue to decrease at the current rate then the number of sunspots in the next solar cycle (cycle 24) would be reduced by roughly half, and there would be very few sunspots visible on the disk during cycle 25.' We'll know more in about six months what the sun decides to do for cycle 24."
The sky is falling! I wonder if global warming caused this, too?
Mainframe/UNIX Bit Twiddler and long time Windows/Linux Hobbyist.
The Theorem Theorem: If If, Then Then.
Sun-God listens to infidel Gore's prayers
AHHHHHH AHHHHHHHHHHHHH..... The end is near! Nuclear winter! Ozone depletion! Greenhouse effect! BUZZ WORD! BUZZ WORD! That is all. On a side note I find it interesting that people keep track of this sort of thing. Sunspots and such. And I thought some of the databases _I_ parse through all day were boring.
I will shred my adversaries. Pull their eyes out just enough to turn them towards their mewing, mutilated faces. Illyria
It's not like we'll see an immediate change in the Earth's temperature the instant we see a slackening of solar activity. I see you subscribe to the notion (whether you accept it or not, and apparently you don't) that the sun is noted to have an affect on global temperature change, yet you pooh pooh it as if it's total bunk. Not very scientific of you to present it that way. And yes, what he said was totally hilarious. Get both brain cells oscillating at the same time, and you might see the humour in it. (Please note the typical "politically driven mod point system" at work here at slash dot. I really wish they would do away with mod points, as they are not used intelligently at all. The post I'm replying to isn't the least bit informative. It's actually not informative and reactionary.)
Karma: Bad is the liberal way of saying this guy won't drink the kool aid here on slash dot. I wear my Karma with pride