See other Science/Tech Articles
Title: Backward Sunspot
Source:
science.nasa.gov
URL Source: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y ... 15aug_backwards.htm?list109322
Published: Aug 21, 2006
Author: n
Post Date: 2006-08-21 14:16:43 by gengis gandhi
Keywords: None
Views: 191
Comments: 9
Backward Sunspot 08.15.2006 see caption"We've been waiting for this," says David Hathaway, a solar physicist at the Marshall Space Flight in Huntsville, Alabama. "A backward sunspot is a sign that the next solar cycle is beginning." Right: The tiny, backward sunspot of July 31, 2006. Credit: SOHO. [Larger image] "Backward" means magnetically backward. Hathaway explains: Sunspots are planet-sized magnets created by the sun's inner magnetic dynamo. Like all magnets in the Universe, sunspots have north (N) and south (S) magnetic poles. The sunspot of July 31st popped up at solar longitude 65o W, latitude 13o S. Sunspots in that area are normally oriented N-S. The newcomer, however, was S-N, opposite the norm. A picture is worth a 1000 words. In the magnetic map of the sun, below, N is white and S is black. The backward sunspot is circled: see caption Above: A SOHO magnetogram of the sun. July 31, 2006. This tiny spot of backwardness matters because of what it might foretell: A really big solar cycle. Solar activity rises and falls in 11-year cycles, swinging back and forth between times of quiet and storminess. Right now the sun is quiet. "We're near the end of Solar Cycle 23, which peaked way back in 2001," explains Hathaway. The next cycle, Solar Cycle 24, should begin "any time now," returning the sun to a stormy state. Satellite operators and NASA mission planners are bracing for this next solar cycle because it is expected to be exceptionally stormy, perhaps the stormiest in decades. Sunspots and solar flares will return in abundance, producing bright auroras on Earth and dangerous proton storms in space: full story. Solar Cycles: Past and FutureBut when will Solar Cycle 24 begin? "Maybe it already did--on July 31st," says Hathaway. The first spot of a new solar cycle is always backwards. Solar physicists have long known that sunspot magnetic fields reverse polarity from cycle to cycle. N-S becomes S-N and vice versa. "The backward sunspot may be the first sunspot of Cycle 24." It sounds exciting, but Hathaway is cautious on several fronts: First, the sunspot lasted only three hours. Typically, sunspots last days, weeks or even months. Three hours is fleeting in the extreme. "It came and went so fast, it was not given an official sunspot number," says Hathaway. The astronomers who number sunspots didn't think it worthy! Sign up for EXPRESS SCIENCE NEWS delivery Second, the latitude of the spot is suspicious. New-cycle sunspots almost always pop up at mid-latitudes, around 30o N or 30o S. The backward sunspot popped up at 13o S. "That's strange." These odd-isms stop Hathaway short of declaring the onset of a new solar cycle. "But it looks promising," he says. Even if Cycle 24 has truly begun, "don't expect any great storms right away." Solar cycles last 11 years and take time to build up to fever pitch. For a while, perhaps one or two years, Cycle 23 and Cycle 24 will actually share the sun, making it a hodgepodge of backward and forward spots. Eventually, Cycle 24 will take over completely; then the fireworks will really begin. Meanwhile, Hathaway plans to keep an eye out for more backward sunspots.
Poster Comment: also extremely weird soho image 
+ Play Audio | + Download Audio | + Email to a friend | + Join mailing list August 15, 2006: On July 31st, a tiny sunspot was born. It popped up from the sun's interior, floated around a bit, and vanished again in a few hours. On the sun this sort of thing happens all the time and, ordinarily, it wouldn't be worth mentioning. But this sunspot was special: It was backward. 
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#1. To: gengis gandhi (#0)
very interesting, considering the illuminati are solar cultists. a reversal thingy is not the type of thing a solar dude would take as good news, i should imagine.
I went to the park and saw this kid flying a kite. The kid was really excited. I don't know why, that's what they're supposed to do. Now if he had had a chair on the other end of that string, I would have been impressed. -Mitch Hedberg
Maybe this explains smirk's verbal reversal.
being an inbred idiot to start with makes most things difficult. -Chinese Proverb okay, so thats not a chinese proverb. but it could be, and if i ever visit there, i will recommend it to the board that decides such things.
I went to the park and saw this kid flying a kite. The kid was really excited. I don't know why, that's what they're supposed to do. Now if he had had a chair on the other end of that string, I would have been impressed. -Mitch Hedberg
-Chinese Proverb Sounds Confucian enough to me. I just heard a clip of smirk going on about "the terriers just following us back here, if we leave too soon." Jesus wept.
This is very big news. The American Indians believe that the Sun will judge this Age and bring it to an end. This is the Fourth World or Age. American Indians had a conference in 1982 where they compared their differen pprophecies of the End of the Age. They all concluded that we do not have much time left and that the Sun will pronounce judgment on us. The next solar cycle begins with the reveral of polarity of the Sun's north and south poles. It should hit a solar max around 2011 and 2012 around the end of the term of the next President if we still have a democracy and a country.
The Truth of 911 Shall Set You Free From The Lie
i have read that the suns polarity has already reversed. as for the shift, it is already here. the first wave has begun. its noticeable if you're observant and tuned in. 'for those who understand, no explanation is necessary. for those who do not, no explanation will suffice'...
I went to the park and saw this kid flying a kite. The kid was really excited. I don't know why, that's what they're supposed to do. Now if he had had a chair on the other end of that string, I would have been impressed. -Mitch Hedberg
helio-socionomic ping
This tiny spot of backwardness matters because of what it might foretell: A really big solar cycle. "But it looks promising," he says. These guys always get excited whenever nature gets really destructive.
"If there’s another 9/11 or a major war in the Middle-East involving a U.S. attack on Iran, I have no doubt that there will be, the day after or within days an equivalent of a Reichstag fire decree that will involve massive detentions in this country." - Daniel Ellsberg Author, Pentagon Papers Interesting - thanks.
#2. To: lodwick (#1)
#3. To: gengis gandhi (#2)
very interesting, considering the illuminati are solar cultists.
#4. To: lodwick (#3)
#5. To: gengis gandhi (#4)
being an inbred idiot to start with makes most things difficult.
#6. To: gengis gandhi (#0)
#7. To: Horse (#6)
#8. To: Arete, Starwind, sourcery (#0)
Nobody's jugs are bigger than Annette's.
#9. To: gengis gandhi (#0)
Sunspots in that area are normally oriented N-S. The newcomer, however, was S-N, opposite the norm.
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest