The Sun Will Be Significantly Cooler by 2050 – Study
The sun might be unusually cool by 2050, according to a new study. Based on the cooling spiral of recent solar cycles, scientists from University of California, San Diego believe the next “grand-minimum” is just decades away, during which the sun will be 7 percent cooler. A grand-minimum, according to the study, is a period of very low solar activity, … Continue reading
The Sun is Blank And Continues to Dim
As the sun gets successively more blank with each day, due to lack of sunspots, it is also dimming. According to data from NASA’s Spaceweather, so far in 2017, 96 days (27%) of the days observing the sun have been without sunspots. Here is the view today from the NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory satellite: Today at Cape Canaveral, SpaceX launched a new sensor … Continue reading
Brrr? How Much Can Temperatures Drop During a Total Solar Eclipse?
During the total solar eclipse on Aug. 21, 2017, the moon will completely cover the disk of the sun from Oregon to South Carolina. During this period of “totality,” eclipse observers will likely report feeling a sudden drop in temperature. Just how much does the mercury drop during this celestial event? During the total solar eclipse on Dec. 9, 1834, … Continue reading
Some Weird Things That Happen During a Total Solar Eclipse
Everyone talks about how visually stunning it is when the darkened Moon fully covers the face of the Sun in a total solar eclipse. And indeed, it is! But there are other unusual, truly strange happenings that occur when the Moon passes in front of the Sun. If you aren’t prepared to look for them, some of these weird phenomena … Continue reading
Is Our Sun Bigger Than We Think? The 2017 Solar Eclipse Will Prove It
Researchers that study solar eclipses believe the sun is larger than we think. NASA scientists claim this year’s historic solar eclipse will prove that our star is hundreds of miles larger. Computer models suggest that our Star, the Sun, could be a few hundred miles larger than believed. This year’s solar eclipse, which falls on August 21, could prove these … Continue reading
Is Our Sun Slowing Down As Middle Age Approaches?
The Sun, now halfway through its life, might be slowing its magnetic activity, researchers say, which could lead to permanent changes in the sunspots and auroras we see. The Sun has changed its figure, researchers say, and might keep it that way. The structure of the Sun’s surface, where sunspots live, appears to have changed markedly 23 years ago. That’s … Continue reading
‘Jaw-dropping’ Rare Total Solar Eclipse Will ‘Bring People to Tears’
The US is set to experience its first coast-to-coast total solar eclipse in almost a century on August 21 – giving millions of Americans the chance to observe the rare celestial event. NASA revealed details and viewing advice for the upcoming eclipse, which will see the moon pass between the sun and Earth, casting a dark shadow and making visible … Continue reading
Massive CME Leaves the Farside of Our Sun On The Same Day As 5th Anniversary of Huge 2012 CME
The reason that title was used is to illustrate just that point. On (July 23) 5 years ago a potentially Earth crippling CME which would have caused chaos on Earth if it had not missed our planet happened on the same day 5 years later, coincidence? When there is such accurate ‘coincidences’ in space I tend to believe something (or … Continue reading
Solar Minimum: Our Sun is Getting Quieter, And Displaying Some Weird Behavior
The sun is about to enter a period of quiet, known as a solar minimum. This cycle happens every 11 years and is characterized of decreased activity—when sunspots fade away and produce fewer solar flares. With this latest period of inactivity approaching, scientists have been monitoring the sun to better understand some of the unusual activity observed over recent years. … Continue reading
NASA Confirms Our Sun is Heading Toward Solar Minimum
High up in the clear blue noontime sky, the sun appears to be much the same day-in, day-out, year after year. But astronomers have long known that this is not true. The sun does change. Properly-filtered telescopes reveal a fiery disk often speckled with dark sunspots. Sunspots are strongly magnetized, and they crackle with solar flares—magnetic explosions that illuminate Earth … Continue reading