Friday, January 4, 2013

2013 Sunspot Peak to Hit Century Low

Sun's 2013 Solar Storm Peak Expected to Hit Century Low

Date: 04 January 2013 Time: 06:58 AM ET
Giant Solar Prominence (Earth Comparison)
This image shows the Earth to scale with a colossal solar filament eruption from the sun on Aug. 31, 2012 as seen by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft. Note: the Earth is not this close to the sun, this image is for scale purposes only.
CREDIT: NASA/SDO/GSFC
The sun's peak of solar activity this year will likely be the quietest seen in at least 100 years, say NASA scientists who watch Earth's closest star daily.

Sunspot numbers are low, researchers said, even as the sun reaches the peak of its 11-year activity cycle. Also, radio waves that are known to indicate high solar activity have been very subdued.

"It's likely to be the lowest solar maximum, as measured by sunspot 'number,' in more than a century," wrote Joe Gurman, a project scientist for NASA's sun-observing mission Stereo, or Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory. The current sun weather cycle is known as Solar Cycle 24.

More - Link >>> http://www.space.com/19131-sun-solar-space-weather-2013.html


Sources: NASA, Space.com .

gaw

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1 comment:

  1. The year Andrew devastated FLA was one of the quietest years for hurricanes. The Tohoku earthquake and tsunami originated from an area of the Japan trench where large earthquakes had not been seen and were believed impossible. Just because we don't see many surface disturbances does not mean the energy of the sun has diminished. Will it blast out in one big chunk instead of lots of small ones? Just saying.

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