Have we reached the solar minimum yet? If so, when?
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I think it's expected to be at it's minimum soon, Solar min just means next to zero sunspot activity leading to less solar flares. This leads to less Arora's and less interference with space bound equipment. It will be good for NASA and GPS equipment, not so good for Arora watchers. Outside that it's not going to effect much besides that and this cycle has an 11 year period of off and on.
I dont think so, if we had, we woulda been frozen solid!
Solar minimum is the period of least solar activity in the solar cycle of the sun. During this time sunspot and solar flare activity diminishes, and often does not occur for days at a time. The date of the minimum is described by a smoothed average over 12 months of sunspot activity, so identifying the date of the solar minimum usually can only happen 6 months after the minimum takes place.
Solar minimum is contrasted with the solar maximum, where there may be hundreds of sunspots.
Solar minimum and solar maximum--"Solar Min" and "Solar Max" for short--are two extremes of the sun's 11-year activity cycle. At maximum, the sun is peppered with spots, solar flares erupt, and the sun hurls billion-ton clouds of electrified gas toward Earth. It's a good time for sky watchers who enjoy auroras, but not so good for astronauts who have to be wary of radiation storms. Power outages, disrupted satellite functions and communications, malfunctioning GPS receivers--these are just a few of the things that can happen during Solar Max.
Solar minimum is different. Sunspots are fewer--sometimes days or weeks go by without a spot. Solar flares subside. It's a safer time to travel through space, and a less interesting time to watch polar skies.
As of this writing, in April 2006, the sun is ending a solar minimum period.
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