Mystery of the Missing Sunspots, Solved? NASA report
Discussion
News from NASA http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/17jun_jets...
"The sun is in the pits of a century-class solar minimum, and sunspots have been puzzlingly scarce for more than two years. Now, for the first time, solar physicists might understand why.
At an American Astronomical Society press conference today in Boulder, Colorado, researchers announced that a jet stream deep inside the sun is migrating slower than usual through the star's interior, giving rise to the current lack of sunspots."
Interesting also to see the 29/05/2009 prediction here:
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/29may_noaa...
I wonder if they took into account the jetstream discovery in the first report.
In any case, the last line of the report on the prediction made me smile:
"Go ahead and mark your calendar for May 2013," says Pesnell. "But use a pencil."
"The sun is in the pits of a century-class solar minimum, and sunspots have been puzzlingly scarce for more than two years. Now, for the first time, solar physicists might understand why.
At an American Astronomical Society press conference today in Boulder, Colorado, researchers announced that a jet stream deep inside the sun is migrating slower than usual through the star's interior, giving rise to the current lack of sunspots."
Interesting also to see the 29/05/2009 prediction here:
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/29may_noaa...
I wonder if they took into account the jetstream discovery in the first report.
In any case, the last line of the report on the prediction made me smile:
"Go ahead and mark your calendar for May 2013," says Pesnell. "But use a pencil."
good science, but a nice way to express it!Gassing Station | News, Politics & Economics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff