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27 May 09 – (Excerpts from Watts Up With That) - Today a new milestone
was reached. A typical solar minimum lasts 485 days, based on an average
of the last 10 solar minima. As of today we are at 638 spotless days in
the current minimum. Also as of today, May 27th, 2009, there were no
sunspots on 120 of this year's (2009) 147 days to date (82%). Our
spotless day count just reached 638.
To find a year with more blank suns, you have to go
all the way back to 1913, which had 311 spotless days (85%):
We just overtook the original solar cycle, #1, so now the only cycles
above this are: cycles of the Maunder minimum, cycles 5 to 7 (Dalton
minimum), and cycles 10 + 12 to 15 (unnamed minimum).
The Maunder Minimum (October 15, 1661 to August 2,
1671) totaled 3579 consecutive spotless days.
See entire article, with graphs:
http://www.sott.net/articles/show/185459-Spotless-Sun-new-Baby-Grand-milestone-has-arrived
Thanks to Harvey M. Haeberle for this link |