Solar Minimum in 2006?

Could the next solar minimum arrive sooner than previously predicted? American solar physicist David Hathaway thinks so.

An article on the ‘Science at NASA’ website predicts that the next solar minimum could occur in late 2006, about a year earlier than previously thought.

Hathaway bases his prediction on data from the last eight solar cycles, which show that solar minimum follows the first sunspot-free day on the sun by 34 months.

In this solar cycle, the first spotless day was on 28 January this year and more recently, on 11 and 12 October, there were two more spotless days. David Hathaway goes on to say that the next solar maximum might also come early.

"Solar activity intensifies rapidly after solar minimum. In recent cycles, Solar Max has followed Solar Min by just four years.” If that is the case, the next solar maximum should be in 2010.

Source: GB2RS News - Courtesy of the RSGB

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