Changes in the sun's activity can affect Earth in other ways, too. For example, ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun is not bottoming out the same way it did during the past few visual minima. "The visible light doesn't vary that much, but UV varies 20 percent, [and] x-rays can vary by a factor of ten," Hall said. "What we don't understand so well is the impact of that differing spectral irradiance."
Solar UV light, for example, affects mostly the upper layers of Earth's atmosphere, where the effects are not as noticeable to humans. But some researchers suspect those effects could trickle down into the lower layers, where weather happens.
In general, recent research has been building a case that the sun has a slightly bigger influence on Earth's climate than most theories have predicted.
Propaganda from right-wing climate deniers? Heh - try National Geographic. (Of course, these are the same folks that give you flies that "zombifie" ants from the inside, eat the brains, then hatch from within the hollowed-out head...)
UPDATE: Ken Tapping - One year into the solar minimum. I was wondering why this isn't getting more press coverage too. Well, ok, not really.
UPDATE: SOHO's got the latest sunspot pics and predictions. Pretty quiet indeed.
Leave a comment