I thought this was interesting for you science and astronomy buffs out there. It may not mean a thing but it's interesting.


The "Sun Makes History" - No sunspots in a month


http://www.dailytech.com/Sun+Makes+H...ticle12823.htm


Drop in solar activity has potential effect for climate on earth.

The sun has reached a milestone not seen for nearly 100 years: an entire month has passed without a single visible sunspot being noted.

The event is significant as many climatologists now believe solar magnetic activity – which determines the number of sunspots -- is an influencing factor for climate on earth.

According to data from Mount Wilson Observatory, UCLA, more than an entire month has passed without a spot. The last time such an event occurred was June of 1913. Sunspot data has been collected since 1749.
...
But this year -- which corresponds to the start of Solar Cycle 24 -- has been extraordinarily long and quiet, with the first seven months averaging a sunspot number of only 3. August followed with none at all. The astonishing rapid drop of the past year has defied predictions, and caught nearly all astronomers by surprise.
....

http://www.dailytech.com/Sun+Makes+H...ticle12823.htm
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get ready for the next ice age.

Of course that's debatable depending on which scientist you talk to.

I did find it interesting that sun spot records have been kept since sometime in the 1700's.

I stopped keeping my own records awhile back when...oh I don't know...I nearly went blind.

Is watching the sun like watching paint dry?

ROFL!

I'm starting to get sunspots.

It will be interesting to see if this lack of sunspot activity continues it corurse or not. Sunspot activity is one of influencing factors that affects the earths climate.

Some scientists say yes and some say there is no correlation whatsoever.

Im sure JHAP will come along and tell us the GSA is responable
.As long as it turns out to be a good thing ,that is

Green SUNfish affecting SUNspots is only to be expected, given the GSA's extensive influence and technical prowess.

The GSA has not discharged any experimental weaponry that had an effect on sun spots as far as you know.

Moon craters on the other hand.....

Yeah, they are still trying to figure out why the correlation exists.

x

Dang Ric you beat me to it. I, too, am a believer in sunspots hold more influence on our temperatures than our own man-made (or cow-made if your from California) gasses. I however, do promote a pollution-less life. Although its hard with my wife "crop-dusting" people all the time.

No, I've actually heard credible scientists say they believe there is no correlation at all and showed data to prove it.

x

Are you sure it's cooled in the last 10 years? The following is from NASA:

A new study by NASA scientists finds that the world's temperature is reaching a level that has not been seen in thousands of years.

The study, led by James Hansen of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, N.Y. along with scientists from other organizations concludes that, because of a rapid warming trend over the past 30 years, the Earth is now reaching and passing through the warmest levels in the current interglacial period, which has lasted nearly 12,000 years. An "interglacial period" is a time in the Earth's history when the area of Earth covered by glaciers was similar or smaller than at the present time. Recent warming is forcing species of plants and animals to move toward the north and south poles

http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/environment/world_warmth.html

Moderators Note:

Yes, Guys, I am tweaking this one to try and keep it viable, i.e. not having to yank the whole thread,

No, nobody's made any bad posts - I removed some tentative steps in what I consider possibly a political direction.

Yes, feel free to cuss me under your breath.

-Theo

No problem here Theo. No need to make this political and that was not my intent.

Ric,

If you believe it's actually cooling down I'm all ears. Let's see the data or a graph from a credible scientific source.

Cecil, just out of curioustity has there been a significant increase amount of sulpher dioxide in the atmosphere recently. My recollection is that there was a significant volcanic eruption in Alalska in the last month or two. It's why we have been having such pretty sunsets lately, could this also be playing a role in the recent cooling lately? or is it the lack of sunspots?

Bob has requested us to stay away from the global warming/cooling topic because all it will accomplish is starting an argument here that he does not want.

There is science of dubious value on both sides and very hard positions on both sides that can only lead to hard feelings here. Bob does not want that. Please guys keep this topic off the forum.

Understood.

The climate controls us, not the other way around. Why is this concept so difficult?

we have some of the most forward thinkers in America right here on this forum. we need a place to discuss solar events and how they relate to our climate and ponds. its inevitable that discussion will wander to the GW debate (not you GW)...but keeping that discussion non-political, academic, and friendly is IMO good for this forum. it sets a high standard not observed anywhere else on the web.

many arguably flawed mathmatical GW models indicated decreased rainfall in the near future in my region of CA. so far this has come to pass. i neither validate nor admonish these models based on the last couple years but do listen to the results and observe my environment. its important to me and i enjoy seeing other's perspectives. right now it does not look good for the el dorado sunfish pond.

dwight, amongst geologists, the concept is toasted routinely.

Dave,

Global warming aside I read an article once that said the west was originally settled during a "wet period" so it gave the orginal settlers a false sense of security. According to this scientist what you have now out there is "normal." Boy that doesn't sound good does it?

Even more scary is I read an article where they were able to determine past droughts and when they happened by taking core samples from a lake bottom, I believe it was in South Dakota. I seem to remember them saying there were periods of a couple hundred years of droughts a few hundred years ago!

Davasta jokes about almost being blinded by looking at the sun. Years ago I saw a guy who had six little yellowish discs scattered about the area of the retina that provides us with our clearest vision (the macula). None were exactly central (foveal)because he couldn't hold central fixation long enough to damage the fovea. I asked if he knew how he might have acquired that retinal damage and he told me that one day he had decided that his eyes needed vitamin D so he stared at the sun. He died about twenty years ago of causes unrelated to his solar experiment. He had no children.

I, for one, would enjoy reading more on the topic introduced, and the various sidetracks it takes. So far, I have been impressed with the vast amount of knowledge from the "unlettered" on this forum. Equally impressive is the ability for everybody to control themselves from political catfights and the overall respect granted to each memeber. Most impressive are the wisecracks and humor. It would seem that the "inductive" method of scientific exploration would welcome differing viewpoints. My own view is that scientific knowledge is the sum total of all tested ideas, instead of the accepted orthodoxy of "scientists."

Pondsea,

Unfortunately once a topic turns to politics or religion things get out of hand even with the best of foks. Bob is right about keeping GW'ing off of here. There are very strong feelings about it on both sides.

Cecil,
Yeah I gues you are right. Too bad though. Some of the thread was gettin kind of interesting. I was curious about the sunspots. Never heard that before. I can see how it could go south however if somebody didn't monitor it.

It's O.K. to talk about sunspots I would think That doesn't have to be about global warming and I didn't post it with global warming in mind.