Newbie question about the continuum

[nautonnier]

Aug 26, 2009 16:54:46 GMT steve24 said:

I am new to this forum and am learning much. Thanks to everyone for the time and effort they contribute. I found this site in a Google search, looking for new information on the interrelation between sunspots (or lack thereof) and the Earths temperature changes.

Could someone please explain?

Thanks,

Steve

Hello Steve24
Welcome

You are stepping into dangerous ground as despite William Herschel observing a connection between wheat prices and sunspots around 1800, there are continual arguments about the effect of sunspots or lack of sunspots on weather. Especially as some researchers' measures of the Total Solar Irradiance would claim that it does not vary sufficiently to have _any_ effect on the weather. Conversely, there are arguments that the Maunder and Dalton minima where the Sun went as quiet as it went now were very cold particularly the Maunder. But there are also positions taken against this that these were actually not really cold periods and if they were cold it was only in small areas etc.

So you can see that this can be a little tricky issue to research. It might be an idea to use the site's search engine to look at past threads and sometimes vigorous 'discussion' and see what position you feel comfortable supporting.

I know that doesn't really help you - but that is what research is... or as Einstein is claimed to have said:

" Of course we don't know what we are doing - if we knew what we were doing it wouldn't be research would it."

[jimcripwell]

steve 24 writes "Could someone please explain?"

Steve, go to the source

John Eddy has two classics

The Maunder Minimum 1976 Science 192 no 4245: 1189

The Case of the MIssing Sunspots 1977 Scientific American May p 80

In addition, if you can get them, two by Edward Maunder

Prof. Spoerer's research on sunspots. 1890 Monthly Notes of the Royal Astronomical Society 50: 251

The Prolonged Sunspot Minimum 1645 - 1715 1922 Journal of the British Astronomical Society 32: 140

If you can get hold of The Sun Kings, a book by Stuart Clark, I can thoroughly recommend it. Particularly Chapter 13 ISBN-13 978-0-691-12600-9