Forecasters keep eye on looming 'Solar Max'

[n2doc]

December 29, 2010 by Annie Hautefeuille and Richard Ingham


The coming year will be an important one for space weather as the Sun pulls out of a trough of low activity and heads into a long-awaited and possibly destructive period of turbulence.

Many people may be surprised to learn that the Sun, rather than burn with faultless consistency, goes through moments of calm and tempest.

But two centuries of observing sunspots -- dark, relatively cool marks on the solar face linked to mighty magnetic forces -- have revealed that our star follows a roughly 11-year cycle of behavior.

The latest cycle began in 1996 and for reasons which are unclear has taken longer than expected to end.

Now, though, there are more and more signs that the Sun is shaking off its torpor and building towards "Solar Max," or the cycle's climax, say experts.

more
http://www.physorg.com/news/2010-12-eye-looming-solar-max.html

[Davis_X_Machina]

1. Cycles that are late and slow to build...

...tend to peak low.

More likely we're headed towards a Daulton minimum.