The Sun Is Fine

Some scientists have expressed concern lately that the current solar minimum is lasting longer than normal, but NASA researchers say everything is fine.

The Sun goes through a roughly 11 year cycle of activity, pegged to the number of sunspots. Solar minimum refers to a period of time when few or no sunspots are visible. The cycle may well say something important about how the Sun operates, but, so far, no one has figured out what that is. In any case, NASA researchers are saying the current minimum is within the normal range, and point out that one in the twentieh century lasted twice as long as the current one has lasted so far.

An interesting fact about solar minimums is that at least one of them can be correlated to a so-called "mini-Ice Age" on Earth. A slight dip in solar output results in a slightly colder Earth. Makes sense. That does set up an interesting question, however. If global warming is heating the Earth, and a quiet Sun is cooling it, how would that interaction play out?