Solar Cycle 24 May Have Finally Begun

xyz writes "NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center reports that the number of sunspots in October for Solar Cycle 24 outnumbered Solar Cycle 23 for the first time, indicating the start of a new solar cycle. Solar activity was observed to be at a 50-year low, with no sunspots for 200 days this year."

Comments

re:new sun cycle

[Anonymous Coward]

Barack Obama is already fixing things!

Re:Only cycle 24?

[Ostracus]

"(For those that need a clue bat, the above is a joke and I do know what a solar cycle is)."

A solar-powered human on a bicycle.

Re:Effect on climate...

[Walkingshark]

"Dim sun" is the new climate buzzword for 2009 to replace 'greenhouse effect.'

I prefer Mongolian Beef myself.

It is a very important issue to communication

[gearloos]

The sun works on an 11 year cycle. There is also other smaller cycles that run in this. One is a 28 day cycle. These are very important to long range (and short range) communication. Ham(amateur) radio is very influenced(as well as commercial) by this. I am not going to try and explain the whole thing here but try this link for anone that would like to learn more about the sloar flux index, k index, a index etc.. http://www.radio-electronics.com/info/propagation/ionospheric/radio-propagation-prediction-solar-indices.php

Re:It is a very important issue to communication

[Bemopolis]

The sun works on an 11 year cycle. There is also other smaller cycles that run in this. One is a 28 day cycle. These are very important to long range (and short range) communication.

I can name another 28-day cycle that affects communication. It largely results in a short-range information transfer that everything is my fault.

Re:so how does it affect our weather

[swordfishBob]

It means significant bursts of solar radiation, but reductions in other extraterrestrial radiation as it gets "blown" away by the solar surges.