Starsky wrote: ↑Fri Sep 08, 2017 1:00 pm
Thought you said we were in for lower solar activity?
The sun is heading toward solar minimum now. Sunspot counts were relatively high in 2014, and now they are sliding toward a low point expected in 2019-2020.
While intense activity such as sunspots and solar flares subside during solar minimum, that doesn't mean the sun becomes dull. Solar activity simply changes form.
For instance, says Pesnell, "during solar minimum we can see the development of long-lived coronal holes."
Coronal holes are vast regions in the sun's atmosphere where the sun's magnetic field opens up and allows streams of solar particles to escape the sun as the fast solar wind.
Pesnell says "We see these holes throughout the solar cycle, but during solar minimum, they can last for a long time - six months or more." Streams of solar wind flowing from coronal holes can cause space weather effects near Earth when they hit Earth's magnetic field. These effects can include temporary disturbances of the Earth's magnetosphere, called geomagnetic storms, auroras, and disruptions to communications and navigation systems.
https://phys.org/news/2017-06-solar-minimum.html#jCp
Incidentally low Sun activity is causing Jet Stream wobble. The Jet stream truck right now is pulling Irma over Florida (the right turn) to high pressure.
http://squall.sfsu.edu/scripts/namjetst ... _fcst.html