6kah6edj2gic8bf (2)

SUNSPOT ACTIVITY IS AT ITS

WEAKEST SINCE 1906, WHICH IS A

SIGN IT COULD BE HEADING TO A

LONG-TERM LOW

THE SUN

IN NUMBERS

RADIUS 695,508km

MASS 1.989x10^30 kg

VOLUME

1.41x10^18 km^3

SURFACE

TEMPERATURE

5,500°C

CORE TEMPERATURE

15,000,000°C

DISTANCE TO EARTH

149,600,000km

Light from the Sun takes eight minutes to

reach Earth

STAR TYPE

Yellow dwarf

Update

THE LATEST INTELLIGENCE

14 Vol. 8 Issue 10

In June, something unusual happened: the Sun went

blank; it lost its spots for the first time in four years.

This is a sign that the Sun is approaching a solar

minimum, a period where sunspots – darker, cooler

areas on the visible surface of the Sun that are

caused by intense magnetic activity – are at their

least abundant.

Every 11 years, the Sun goes through a cycle

during which its magnetic activity fluctuates up

and down, leading to changes in the number of

sunspots and solar flares. The period of most

activity is called a solar maximum and the period

of least activity a solar minimum.

“Solar activity is currently declining from the

most recent cycle maximum, which peaked

around the end of 2014,” said Prof Joanna Haigh,

co-director of the Grantham Institute for Climate

Change and Environment.

During a solar maximum, sunspots can erupt,

releasing vast amounts of radiation that can disrupt

satellites and bombard astronauts with potentially

dangerous radiation. During a solar minimum, the

lack of solar storms results in Earth losing part of its

shield against cosmic radiation coming from outside

the Solar System. “Overall, the Sun’s radiation

output is reduced at solar minimum so the Earth’s

atmosphere shrinks slightly as it is being heated

less,” said Prof Lucie Green, author of 15 Million

Degrees: A Journey To The Centre Of The Sun. “This

is good news for some satellites and also for the

PHOTOS: GETTY, NASA

14 Vol. 8 Issue 10