One lonely sunspot shows on the sun after
weeks of near zero sunspot activity
This week in Boulder, Colorado, a group of leading solar physicists met to compare and discuss their predictions for the next solar maximum. On April 25th they held a press conference and announced a split decision. One camp holds that Solar Cycle 24 will be intense and peak in 2011, a second group predicts a much weaker maximum in 2012. This is a year later than some other recent predictions. Expected to start last fall, the delayed onset of Solar Cycle 24 stymied the panel and left them evenly split on whether a weak or strong period of solar storms lies ahead, but neither group predicts a record-breaker.
Researchers were able to agree on one thing -- Solar activity is entering a period of deep minimum. Based on declining sunspot numbers and other factors, the cycle should hit rock bottom in March 2008 plus or minus six months.
Best avaialable data says 2007 and 2008 will be really low sunspot years. The rest will have to wait for Ms Sun, when it weighs in with the actual results. A couple of years of sunspot minimums could put a damper on the globull warming hoax.
Here is the press release.
