New Solar Cycle Sunspot 23/9/08

Nasa finds New Solar Cycle Sunspot

After many weeks of a blank sun with no sunspots and very few sunspots this entire year, a small new sunspot emerged Sept. 23, 2008. This new spot has both the magnetic orientation and the high-latitude position of a sunspot belonging to the new solar cycle, Cycle 24.

Will this be the harbinger of more solar changes to come and mark the beginnings of a rise in solar activity in the near future? Only time will tell. If the pattern from the record of the past 400 years holds, we can expect that solar activity will begin to show an increase in the next few months

www.nasa.gov...


Our sun has been unusually quiet...until now. A sunspot has appeared on the surface of the sun. Look closely at the image to the left. There is a tiny black dot in the upper right quadrant of the sun. This image is courtesy of the Standford-Lockhead Institute for Space Research. Cu_sunspot The photo to the right is a close up of this same sunspot. This photo was taken by Pete Lawrence of the United Kingdom.


Scientists are excited about this activity because the sun has been a little too quiet for comfort. The sunspot activity goes through 11 year cycles and was due to start another one in March of this year. After almost 9 months of little to no activity, scientists hope this sunspot is the start of the next cycle.
Although sunspots can produce powerful solar winds that disrupt satellite communications, scientists believe sunspots are linked to our global climate. There is a correlation between higher sunspot activity and warmer global temperatures and vice versa.


edit to add:koldfirstalert.typepad.com...



Well folks this could be the start of the next highly anticipated solar MAX that has been predicted by two scientists to come between 2010 and 2012.

[edit on 9/24/2008 by altered_states]

Awesome. Thanks for the info! I have been waiting for an increase in solar activity. Maybe I will finally get to see the "northern lights"!

New Cycle 24 Sunspot and SSN wavelet analysis



Maybe there is some hope for SC24 ramping up this year yet. This appears to be the largest SC24 spot to date. Previous SC24 spots have faded quickly, we’ll see how long this one lasts.




For more info goto

wattsupwiththat.com...



Edit to add :The real excitement about the active region was not its size or duration, but rather its polarity. The orientation of the sunspot's magnetic field identified it as a member of new Sunspot Cycle 24. Because the year 2008 has brought so many blank suns, some observers have wondered if we are ever going to climb out of the ongoing deep solar minimum. Sunspot 1002 is an encouraging sign that the 11-year solar cycle is indeed progressing, albeit slowly.

www.spaceweather.com...

[edit on 9/24/2008 by altered_states]