We are coming up on the next solar maximum. The last max peaked in about 2001 and it is an 11 year cycle. We are then by definition coming out of a solar minimum as well. So what does this mean to those of us walking around on the thin crust of the earth? It means plenty. It means electric grids will be disrupted, it means that you will see aurora (last time (2001) they saw them in mexico city), and if the sun is waking up and throwing out more energy, winters should be less severe. If a massive CME hits earth, we could lose satellites (but there is predictive efforts to prevent both satellite loss and power grid failure.
More sunspots=more solar energy=a more excited earth atmosphere. The sunspots are relatively cool (therefore darker) patches on the sun that contain magnetic filament that can erupt into a Coronal Mass Ejection which floods the Earth’s magnetosphere causing aurora and possibly electric grid failure and satellite failure. The spots are viewable if you take precautions, we can discuss simple ways to view the spots.
Before i do a long page about solar minimum and maximum, I would rather do the lecture this way. I will be around at 0830 to answer questions about the cycles and about these websites:
Space Weather, especially the measurements on the left tool bar. These guys are the best in the world.
The Solar Dynamics Observatory and why it is needed to predict CME’s and other disruptions.
Solar and Heliospheric Observatory for real time CME’s
and for fun:
Atmospheric Optics…
Tags: CME, heliodynamics, saturday lecture series, solar cycles
