Sun to Sleep

Sun Going to Sleep Soon
29-May-2006

Solar Conveyer

The next sunspot cycle begins in 2011 and is expected to be among the most powerful in recent memory, but after that, the sun is going to sleep. Should it remain quiescent, this could mean that, by 2015, we'll be heading for another period similar to the 'Maunder Minimum,' or Little Ice Age, that affected the world from roughly 1550 to 1850. Future solar activity on the surface is measured by indirect observation of the Great Conveyor Belt, a fiery circulation deep inside the sun. This circulation normally moves at three feet per second, but has dropped recently to under one and a half feet per second. The faster the movement, the more energetic the surface of the sun in about 20 years. Solar scientists have never seen it as slow as it is now. What does this mean for global warming? It could be a God-given chance to fix our broken atmosphere before it's too late. But it also means that the jet streams will be slowing down, as they are driven in part by solar energy. The lack of air circulation on earth could have severe consequences for many of the world's heavily polluted cities.

Art credit: NASA