Are there sunspots today

There are currently three sunspot regions on the visible disc. There are two small and simple, mature sunspots; one in the northwest and another near the meridian in the southern hemisphere. The other sunspot group in the northeast quadrant is rather simple and small and has shown slight signs of decay with no significant flare activity observed.

The total magnetic field strength of the solar wind was weak, with no significant negative deflections in the important north-south direction. Resultant geomagnetic activity was Quiet Kp 0 to 2. Solar Activity: Solar activity is expected to be generally Very Low, with a chance of Common-class flares. A weak CME is expected to pass ahead of Earth, with a weak glancing blow just possible, most likely on day 1 11th. However, confidence is very low for this and any potential impacts are expected to be minimal.

During Solar Minimum the sun's magnetic field weakens, allowing more cosmic rays into the solar system. We expect dose rate to be highest at that time. Now that Solar Minimum has passed, the sun is waking up again. Solar magnetic fields are strengthening, providing a stiffer barrier to cosmic rays trying to enter the solar system. The decline of cosmic radiation above California is a sign that new Solar Cycle 25 is gaining strength. Who cares? Cosmic rays are a surprisingly "down to Earth" form of space weather.

They can seed clouds , trigger lightning , and penetrate commercial airplanes. According to a study from the Harvard T. Chan school of public health, crews of aircraft have higher rates of cancer than the general population. The researchers listed cosmic rays , irregular sleep habits, and chemical contaminants as leading risk factors.

Somewhat more controversial studies 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 llink cosmic rays with cardiac arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. In this plot, dose rates are expessed as multiples of sea level. At 40, feet, the multiplier is closer to 50x. The higher you fly, the more radiation you will absorb. The radiation sensors onboard our helium balloons detect X-rays and gamma-rays in the energy range 10 keV to 20 MeV. These energies span the range of medical X-ray machines and airport security scanners.

Data points in the first graph "Stratospheric Radiation" correspond to the peak of the Regener-Pfotzer maximum , which lies about 67, feet above central California. When cosmic rays crash into Earth's atmosphere, they produce a spray of secondary particles that is most intense at the entrance to the stratosphere.

Physicists Eric Regener and Georg Pfotzer discovered the maximum using balloons in the s and it is what we are measuring today. To get the best views of the cosmos, check out the Phoenix Window Glass Replacement experts for all your window and glass needs.

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They list and review gambling sites from Canada. Explore the best laptops in Romania listed at smartbuyer. Web Design Essex. Gradually Schwabe detected a distinct cycle — an year period of increasing and decreasing sunspot activity.

Ever since, everything imaginable has been examined for a relationship to the year sunspot cycle: the stock market , wars, epidemics, the price of whiskey and even the fertility of fur-bearing animals in Canada! Some scientists believe they do. Interestingly, this same year interval roughly coincided with the middle part of the "Little Ice Age," during which Europe and North America experienced much colder-than-average temperatures. Some think that we might be heading for the start of another prolonged sunspot minimum , similar to the one years ago, and that another spell of unusually cold weather — some call it " global cooling " — will ultimately result.

Many environmental scientists, however, strongly disagree, stating that the Little Ice Age in the late 17th and early 18th centuries was more likely caused by an unusually high level of volcanic activity worldwide, spewing widespread clouds of ash and dust into the atmosphere. Such aerosol clouds acted like an atmospheric shade to reduce incoming sunlight, which was likely the main cause of the Little Ice Age, according to NASA. In , the Space Environment Center changed its name to the Space Weather Prediction Center, and it recently added a new, first-of-its-kind space weather forecast model to its suite of tools to improve forecast capabilities, further protecting the U.

It will also help predict total electron content, which is important for communication and navigation systems. The new neutral density field product will aid in orbit prediction and space situational awareness for satellite operators and ground tracking systems. Solar activity bottomed out in December , signaling the beginning of a new sunspot cycle — number The current expectation is that we will reach a maximum around mid But even for this, not all solar scientists are on the same page regarding how strong it will ultimately become.

The general consensus is that solar cycle 25 may have a slow start but will peak with a sunspot range of 95 to This in turn lowers the temperature relative to its surroundings because the concentrated magnetic field inhibits the flow of hot, new gas from the Sun's interior to the surface. Sunspots tend to occur in pairs that have magnetic fields pointing in opposite directions.

A typical spot consists of a dark region called the umbra , surrounded by a lighter region known as the penumbra. The sunspots appear relatively dark because the surrounding surface of the Sun the photosphere is about 10, degrees F. Sunspots are quite large as an average size is about the same size as the Earth. Sunspots, Solar Flares, Coronal Mass Ejections and their influence on Earth: Coronal Mass Ejections shown left and solar flares are extremely large explosions on the photosphere.

In just a few minutes, the flares heat to several million degrees F. They occur near sunspots, usually at the dividing line between areas of oppositely directed magnetic fields. Hot matter called plasma interacts with the magnetic field sending a burst of plasma up and away from the Sun in the form of a flare. Solar flares emit x-rays and magnetic fields which bombard the Earth as geomagnetic storms.

If sunspots are active, more solar flares will result creating an increase in geomagnetic storm activity for Earth. Therefore during sunspot maximums, the Earth will see an increase in the Northern and Southern Lights and a possible disruption in radio transmissions and power grids. The storms can even change polarity in satellites which can damage sophisticated electronics.

Therefore scientists will often times preposition satellites to a different orientation to protect them from increased solar radiation when a strong solar flare or coronal mass ejection has occurred. The Solar Cycle: Sunspots increase and decrease through an average cycle of 11 years. Dating back to , we have experienced 23 full solar cycles where the number of sunspots have gone from a minimum, to a maximum and back to the next minimum, through approximate 11 year cycles.