Okay, so many times people get my job mixed up with what I really do. Just because my title is Meteorologist does not mean I study outer space. In fact, Aristotle wrote the first book about meteorology about 300 BC. He wrote in his book meteorologica that meteorology was the study of the motion of meteors in the Earth's atmosphere. So in other words what we now call the troposphere which is a small envelope in the atmosphere where weather takes place. So I'm responsible for what happens in the Earths atmosphere and not beyond.
So now that we have that straight let's talk about the new solar cycle. This solar cycle will be know as Solar Cycle 24. This solar cycle began on January 4th when a reversed-polarity sunspot appeared. Solar cycles 'wax' and 'wane' every 11 years but scientists still don't know why one begins and another ends. They also don't really know what there has been a lull in activity since 2003. According to David Hathaway of the Marshall Space Flight Center; "New solar cycles always begin with a high-latitude, reversed polarity sunspot," explains Hathaway. "Reversed polarity" means a sunspot with opposite magnetic polarity compared to sunspots from the previous solar cycle. "High-latitude" refers to the sun's grid of latitude and longitude. Old cycle spots congregate near the sun's equator. New cycle spots appear higher, around 25 or 30 degrees latitude.
So why is this anything we should care about. Well for one thing solar flares and storms disrupt GPS satellites and navigation. They also can disrupt weather satellites and cause radio blackouts in airplanes flying over the poles.
One of the cool side effects is that more solar storms means more auroas. That means we could be in for a great light show soon.
Thanks you to NASA for the information.
So now that we have that straight let's talk about the new solar cycle. This solar cycle will be know as Solar Cycle 24. This solar cycle began on January 4th when a reversed-polarity sunspot appeared. Solar cycles 'wax' and 'wane' every 11 years but scientists still don't know why one begins and another ends. They also don't really know what there has been a lull in activity since 2003. According to David Hathaway of the Marshall Space Flight Center; "New solar cycles always begin with a high-latitude, reversed polarity sunspot," explains Hathaway. "Reversed polarity" means a sunspot with opposite magnetic polarity compared to sunspots from the previous solar cycle. "High-latitude" refers to the sun's grid of latitude and longitude. Old cycle spots congregate near the sun's equator. New cycle spots appear higher, around 25 or 30 degrees latitude.
So why is this anything we should care about. Well for one thing solar flares and storms disrupt GPS satellites and navigation. They also can disrupt weather satellites and cause radio blackouts in airplanes flying over the poles.
One of the cool side effects is that more solar storms means more auroas. That means we could be in for a great light show soon.
Thanks you to NASA for the information.
3 comments:
Greg:
In regards to 11 year solar cycles, I'm wondering if it has anything to do with planetary alignemnt within our solar system.
It would follow that for ever action, there is an opposite and equal reaction, so as the sun exhibits influences on the planets, the planets (under the right conditions) would exert some (however miniscule) force upon the sun.
That "might" account for increased solar activity...or it could just be a case of "fusion indigestion"...LOL!
Very informative post.
I have a feeling I might learn something here...and there's nothing wrong with that.
B.G.
Bob,
Thanks for comments. I like that this post caused a viable discussion. I can't really find any evidence that planetary alinement would have any influence on solar cycle activity but I think its a good hypothethis.
As far as Newton's Law of Motion. The only problem with using that law here is that there is not gravatation force so really there way for force to work against mass to cause any kind of action. Thanks again for your comment, here's a link about Newton that talks about the law. http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/newton.html
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