This idle period really started when the Sun emitted an enormous flare in 2006, before the Sun spot count began to drop. It was massive, enough to alarm solar physicists. When the Sun went into a period of near-zero activity beginning in the fall of 2006, it also alarmed solar scientists and the media got into it with another Litttle Ice Age, Maunder Minimum, etc., etc., etc. When activity returned, in the spring of 2008, which was 18 months later, they all breathed a sign of relief, which was short-lived because the activity levels, including magnetic storms and sunspot counts, were below normal and the Sun did NOT switch its magnetic poles as it usually does.
So here we are, 12 years later and the few sunspots that have appeared have, in some cases, been smaller than the Earth, or nearly invisible on the surface. Magnetic activity is also very low.
I'm just keeping track of how far into the summer season I have to run my furnace to keep my little house reasonably warm and how many rain days there are as opposed to sun days. Frankly, this is the third spring in a row that budding in trees and flowering shrubs has been late, and this year, it was later than ever. That may be partly due to lower solar input and partly due to chillier temperatures at night. The trees did not break buds open until nearly the end of April - not normal for around here (northeastern Illinois) but we seem to be in the path of a scoop of cold air coming down from the Far North near Hudson's Bay, which is still mostly ice-covered - about 95%, per the satellite images. South of me, mid-state, it's near-normal, although my sister has told me she's still running her furnace, too.
So if we go into a cold cycle, so what? It's part of the natural order of things. It's a cycle and like all cycles it has a beginning, a middle and an ending. We've have a rather long cycle period of warm weather, starting back in the 20th century, and that cycle may be ending. Big deal.
Just stock your pantry and your freezer, and be prepared for it. We might have an early, cold Autumn, too. What's the big deal? Two years ago, at the end of October, I was at a wetland area with a camera, a place loaded with geese at sunrise waiting for the sun to show over the hill behind me. I got some absolutely great shots of them taking off and heading to the flyway. I was half-frozen by the time I got home, because in the shadows of the trees, it was about 28F. Pretty normal weather for that time of year.
If I do that again this year, I will enjoy it thoroughly.
This idle period really started when the Sun emitted an enormous flare in 2006, before the Sun spot count began to drop. It was massive, enough to alarm solar physicists. When the Sun went into a period of near-zero activity beginning in the fall of 2006, it also alarmed solar scientists and the media got into it with another Litttle Ice Age, Maunder Minimum, etc., etc., etc. When activity returned, in the spring of 2008, which was 18 months later, they all breathed a sign of relief, which was short-lived because the activity levels, including magnetic storms and sunspot counts, were below normal and the Sun did NOT switch its magnetic poles as it usually does.
So here we are, 12 years later and the few sunspots that have appeared have, in some cases, been smaller than the Earth, or nearly invisible on the surface. Magnetic activity is also very low.
I'm just keeping track of how far into the summer season I have to run my furnace to keep my little house reasonably warm and how many rain days there are as opposed to sun days. Frankly, this is the third spring in a row that budding in trees and flowering shrubs has been late, and this year, it was later than ever. That may be partly due to lower solar input and partly due to chillier temperatures at night. The trees did not break buds open until nearly the end of April - not normal for around here (northeastern Illinois) but we seem to be in the path of a scoop of cold air coming down from the Far North near Hudson's Bay, which is still mostly ice-covered - about 95%, per the satellite images. South of me, mid-state, it's near-normal, although my sister has told me she's still running her furnace, too.
So if we go into a cold cycle, so what? It's part of the natural order of things. It's a cycle and like all cycles it has a beginning, a middle and an ending. We've have a rather long cycle period of warm weather, starting back in the 20th century, and that cycle may be ending. Big deal.
Just stock your pantry and your freezer, and be prepared for it. We might have an early, cold Autumn, too. What's the big deal? Two years ago, at the end of October, I was at a wetland area with a camera, a place loaded with geese at sunrise waiting for the sun to show over the hill behind me. I got some absolutely great shots of them taking off and heading to the flyway. I was half-frozen by the time I got home, because in the shadows of the trees, it was about 28F. Pretty normal weather for that time of year.
If I do that again this year, I will enjoy it thoroughly.