Topic: SPACE PHOTOS THIS WEEK: Blank Sun, Lacy Galaxy, MoreSPACE PHOTOS THIS WEEK

[sam]

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/04/photogalleries/week-in-space-pictures-37/index.html?source=rss

[Sandra]

Re photo no 1 :

April 1, 2009--The sun's face is spotless in an image taken by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory on March 31, 2009. An unusually low number of sunspots since the start of the year has prompted NASA to conclude that our normally stormy star is at its lowest cycle of activity in almost a century.

The last time the sun experienced such a deep solar minimum was in 1913, when it had 311 spotless days.

It would be interesting to see how the worlds climate was in 1913, compared to a few years before and after. Maybe politicians would then realise that the sun, and not man made CO2, affects the climate the most

[Clive]

Good thinking Sandra!

[sam]

yeah, but I wouldn't trust the results from 1913 - most of the solar people only properly trust data from 50 years ago...

[Sandra]

If the UK government had an inkling of something being true from 1913 BC they would say it was true, as long as they could tax us on it 

[sam]

If the UK government had an inkling of something being true from 1913 BC they would say it was true, as long as they could tax us on it