Significance Of Sunspots

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Significance of Sunspots

A sunspot is a concentration of magnetic flux in the photosphere of the sun that normally occurs in bipolar clusters or groups. In contrast to its surroundings, a sunspot is observed as a dark spot because it is approximately 1500 K cooler than its surrounding area. The number of sunspots on our sun varies in “eleven year” cycles and in “three-hundred year” cycles.
Although it may vary from seven to seventeen years, the “eleven year” cycle begins with the maximum number of sunspots being visible, sometimes reaching one-hundred or more at a time. Over the next several years, the number of sunspots dwindle close to or even zero, and then gradually begin to increase in quantity until the end of the cycle when the star is once again displaying up to one-hundred or more. The “three-hundred” year cycle illustrates the patterns of the “eleven year” cycle, obviously on a grander scale. It begins with longer cycles of low maximum sunspots and gradually increases to shorter cycles with a higher maximum sunspot count. This pattern then reverses itself approximately half way through the “three-hundred” year cycle, and we again observe a pattern of lengthening cycles with fewer maximum sunspot counts. The low point(s) of this cycle are referred to as the Maunder Minimum, or a “mini ice age.”
There is a definite correlation between the number of sunspots and the earth’s temperature. The accepted theory on this correlation states that when more sunspots are present, the earth’s atmospheric temperature increases, and when there is an absence of sunspots, the earth’s atmospheric temperature decreases. These changes in temperature during the “eleven year” cycles are minute and without proper recording and analysis, would most likely go unnoticed by the common man. However during the highs and lows of the “three hundred” year cycle, the changes in average temperature, althou...