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One historical long-term correlation between solar activity and climate change is the 1645–1715 Maunder minimum, a period of little or no sunspot activity which partially overlapped the "Little Ice Age" during which cold weather prevailed in Europe. The Little Ice Age encompassed roughly the 16th to the 19th centuries.
Individual sunspots or groups of sunspots may last anywhere from a few days to a few months, but eventually decay. Sunspots expand and contract as they move across the surface of the Sun, with diameters ranging from 16 km (10 mi) [3] to 160,000 km (100,000 mi). [4] Larger sunspots can be visible from Earth without the aid of a telescope. [5]
Sunspot activity has been measured using the Wolf number for about 300 years. This index (also known as the Zürich number) uses both the number of sunspots and the number of sunspot groups to compensate for measurement variations. A 2003 study found that sunspots had been more frequent since the 1940s than in the previous 1150 years. [30]
Three solar flares occurred over a 24-hour period this week. While we may not see them with a naked eye, they can affect Earth. Here's how.
El Niño is officially back. It's been a few years since we were last impacted by the irregular weather pattern, so it's likely time for a refresher on exactly what that means and how it may ...
A simple scheme of sunspot classification based on the McIntosh system for sunspot groups, or related to a region's fractal complexity [62] is commonly used as a starting point for flare prediction. [63] Predictions are usually stated in terms of probabilities for occurrence of flares above M- or X-class within 24 or 48 hours.
A solar flare is an intense burst of radiation near a sunspot that releases magnetic energy out into space, according to NASA. These giant explosions from the sun send energy, light, and particles ...
Radiative forcing is defined in the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report as follows: "The change in the net, downward minus upward, radiative flux (expressed in W/m 2) due to a change in an external driver of climate change, such as a change in the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO 2), the concentration of volcanic aerosols or the output of the Sun." [3]: 2245