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Science report from Yahoo Science

The sun is losing its spots — and here’s why that’s a bad thing for all of us

Ashley Rey / June 29, 2016 3:54 pm

    

The sun is losing its spots, and it’s certainly something that we shouldn’t take lightly. According to news.com.au, our fireball has gone blank for the second time this month, leading Meteorologist Paul Dorian to believe that the next solar minimum is approaching and there will be an increasing number of spotless days over the next few years. This matters because the amount of sun spots reportedly affects our climate.

So, let’s start with solar minimum. What is it exactly? Well, NASA explains it to be when the sun’s natural solar cycle shows the lowest amount of sunspots. You see, when at its best, the sun’s surface is covered invisible dark blemishes, or sunspots. The sun goes through a natural solar cycle approximately every 11 years, and each cycle is marked by the increase and decrease of sunspots – with the highest number of sunspots in any given solar cycle being the “solar maximum” and the lowest number being “solar minimum.”

NASA / news.com.au

The sun at its best.

“During Solar Max, huge sunspots and intense solar flares are a daily occurrence. Auroras appear in Florida. Radiation storms knock out satellites. Radio blackouts frustrate CB radio as well. The last such episode took place in the years around 2000-2001,” says NASA.

NASA / news.com.au

And, the sun at its worst.

NASA goes on to explain that “during solar minimum, the opposite occurs. Solar flares are almost non-existent while whole weeks go by without a single, tiny sunspot to break the monotony of the blank sun. This is what we are experiencing now.”

So… why we should care? Well, Dorian breaks down all of the sun-related deets to us in his report, published just a few days ago. “The blankness will stretch for just a few days at a time, then it’ll continue for weeks at a time, and finally it should last for months at a time when the sunspot cycle reaches its nadir,” says Dorian, leading a lot of us to believe that the next mini ice age is on its way.

Coltons Point Times version of next Ice Age.

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Solar Flare Issue continues to perplex Experts

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Here is the latest update on the solar flare issue the CPT has been tracking for years.

Starpulse.com

Frighteningly Enormous Solar Flare Update: White House Prepares For Coronal Mass Ejection, Potential Catastrophic Space Weather Events

Read more at http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2015/12/29/frighteningly-enormous-solar-flare-upd#d23MpBDEYteAj1Hz.99

Brad Ryder 
12/29/2015 3:45am EST

While many people are looking back on pivotal events of 2015 -- famous deaths, terrorism, and the horse and pony Republican presidential debates -- a disturbing solar flare report is trending again. 

Recently, the White House made preparations for unpredictable and severe space weather events. And much of the clamor focuses on the possibility of a catastrophic coronal mass ejection striking Earth, citing an AOL latest news story. 

According to a video report, an intense solar flare narrowly missed a direct hit with Earth by a matter of days in 2012. NASA said an intense CME launched towards the planet at speeds of over 6 million miles per hour. 

At that speed, it would have taken the enormous flare 13 hours or so to reach our atmosphere. Consequently, the effects would have been catastrophic. As the news journalist says, it would have thrown us back to the Ice Age, so to speak, as many power grids would have been taken offline.

In October, the Obama Administration published the National Space Weather Action Plan, under the auspices of the National Science and Technology Council. The scope of the 44-page document is defined as such:

"With the objectives of improving understanding of, forecasting of, and preparedness for space-weather events (both the phenomena and their effects), the National Space Weather Strategy defines six strategic goals to prepare the Nation for near- and long-term space-weather effects."

 

NASA describes solar flares or coronal mass ejections as huge bursts of energy that launches materials from the sun. If the Earth's orbit takes it into the path of the solar mass; the results can be disastrous for a race highly dependent on electronic technologies.

One scientist painted an ominous picture of what could have occurred had the planet suffered a direct hit from the solar flare three years ago. 

"If it had hit, we would still be picking up the pieces." 

Here's putting things in perspective: Space meteorologists and teams of experts agree that the 2012 solar flare could have caused widespread damage and psychological effects to the tune of $2 trillion. Comparatively speaking, based on the sun's recent volatile activity, officials fear a cataclysmic solar flare that is 1,000 times larger. The costs are immeasurable. 

Doomsday thinkers say the White House report telegraphs a message that human life may be on borrowed time, that a space storm capable of mass extinction is brewing. No credible sources are reporting such extreme Earth events. However, one has to wonder why federal authorities are mulling the idea. 

This story is developing.

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