Are Sunspots disappearing?

[Jim, W5JO]

September 3, 2009: The sun is in the pits of the deepest solar minimum in nearly a century. Weeks and sometimes whole months go by without even a single tiny sunspot. The quiet has dragged out for more than two years, prompting some observers to wonder, are sunspots disappearing?

"Personally, I'm betting that sunspots are coming back," says researcher Matt Penn of the National Solar Observatory (NSO) in Tucson, Arizona. But, he allows, "there is some evidence that they won't."

Penn's colleague Bill Livingston of the NSO has been measuring the magnetic fields of sunspots for the past 17 years, and he has found a remarkable trend. Sunspot magnetism is on the decline:

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/03sep_sunspots.htm

Bodes well for 160 propogation but not all that good for 10 meters.

[K3ZS]

It sure seems like it.    Seems like a decade since we had the usual short skip on 40M in the day and 80 at night.    We might have to be content with sporadic E from time to time on 10M.

[W3SLK]

Read Tomas Hood, NW7US, take on this round of sun spots. Very interesting reading.

http://hfradio.org/propagation.html

[flintstone mop]

I can roger the long dreary spotless Sun. Man, it's taking a long time to wake him back up.
And the lower bands will shine for the next few years. I guess when the spots return it will take a couple of years before this magic time with 160 and 80 goes away.
A wet noodle will even work for 10M.

Fred

[k4kyv]

I recall  last sunspot maximum, 10m was nothing like the show that previous cycles had put on, even though the ss numbers were relatively high.  I never did hear much from Europe the whole cycle.  Most DX was from Central America, the Caribbean, Hawaii, VK and ZL.  East-West paths sucked.

Maybe the weakening effect was already showing evidence then.

[WA1GFZ]

Excessive oil usage on earth has generated a high VSWR to the sun. Sun reduced sun spots to tune out reactance.

[W3RSW]

 
-and don't forget the nuclear magnetic resonance of paramagnetic salts feedback from one trillion big macs !

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

Sun spots must appear before disappearing.

[Bill, KD0HG]

From Wikipedia:

"The Maunder Minimum is the name used for the period roughly spanning 1645 to 1715 when sunspots became exceedingly rare, as noted by solar observers of the time.

The Maunder Minimum coincided with a period of lower-than-average global temperatures.

During one 30-year period within the Maunder Minimum, astronomers observed only about 50 sunspots, as opposed to a more typical 40,000–50,000 spots in modern times.

Little Ice Age

The Maunder Minimum coincided with the middle — and coldest part — of the Little Ice Age, during which Europe and North America, and perhaps much of the rest of the world, were subjected to bitterly cold winters. Whether there is a causal connection between low sunspot activity and cold winters is the subject of ongoing debate."

I guess we'll find out..

[flintstone mop]

I wonder if those HAAT experiments caused the high SWR that screwed up the Sun's menstrual cycle.

Fred

[WA1GFZ]

I know you don't have to care about the menstrual cycle if you wear a hat.

[W9GT]

From Wikipedia:

"The Maunder Minimum is the name used for the period roughly spanning 1645 to 1715 when sunspots became exceedingly rare, as noted by solar observers of the time.

The Maunder Minimum coincided with a period of lower-than-average global temperatures.

During one 30-year period within the Maunder Minimum, astronomers observed only about 50 sunspots, as opposed to a more typical 40,000–50,000 spots in modern times.

Little Ice Age

The Maunder Minimum coincided with the middle — and coldest part — of the Little Ice Age, during which Europe and North America, and perhaps much of the rest of the world, were subjected to bitterly cold winters. Whether there is a causal connection between low sunspot activity and cold winters is the subject of ongoing debate."

I guess we'll find out..

Someone didn't get the memo about "Global Warming"

73,  Jack, W9GT

[k4kyv]

Prelude to SUPERNOVA!

In 2012 as I recall?

[WA1GFZ]

AH that is just Tom Vu everything will be fine when he unkeys

[W3SLK]

This is what happens when I'm on the porceline modulator......

[WA1GFZ]

Mikey you must have a tial pipe like an F117A