The Sun's 'Quiet Period' Explained

Arvisp writes with this excerpt from the BBC: "Solar physicists may have discovered why the Sun recently experienced a prolonged period of weak activity. The most recent so-called 'solar minimum' occurred in December 2008. Its drawn-out nature extended the total length of the last solar cycle — the repeating cycle of the Sun's activity — to 12.6 years, making it the longest in almost 200 years. The new research suggests that the longer-than-expected period of weak activity may have been linked to changes in the way a hot soup of charged particles called plasma circulated in the Sun."

Comments

Climate change

[wvmarle]

What you saying? This is not caused by global warming?

Re:Climate change

[Dishevel]

Solar minimum is minimum of sun spots. Sun spots are relatively cooler areas of the sun. So while I am not saying for a fact that the increased solar minimum is responsible for what they were calling Global Warming I am stating that your particular argument is bullshit and stupid.

Re:Just Pushes Back The Question

[demonbug]

'... may have been linked to changes in the way a hot soup of charged particles called plasma circulated in the Sun.

So why did the "hot soup of charged particles called plasma" change in the way that they circulated?

Because God made it so.

What, did you sleep through your creationism classes in high school or something?

Re:Finally...

[Anonymous Coward]

Finally some evidence to prove my new theory I will soon propose: Global Cooling.

You're late to the party. They changed it to be "climate change" some time ago so no matter if the globe "cools" or "warms", some people can equally claim the sky is falling and push through their unrelated political agendas.

Re:are we really surprised?

[EmagGeek]

Don't you get it? Things can never change. Any deviation from what we expect means there is a calamity brewing that needs a billion dollars to be thrown at it so that it can be understood.

The Human Race is emotionally incapable of dealing with change.

I am surprise this isn't blamed on global warming

[Anonymous Coward]

You know, how our Carbon emissions are actually weakening the sun. Because we know humans have more impact on the environment that a hot glowing ball of gas in the sky.

oh gee

[unity100]

arent you the easy to fool moron then ...

there cycles being in nature does NOT mean that 'private research institutions' can suddenly start inventing numerous 'cycles' just in a decade, whereas there have been only a set amount of cycles invented since the start of scientific revolution.

iiiirrronically, these sudden discovery outbreaks coincide with the start of talk about how reckles industries hurt the planet ...