answersLogoWhite

0

What is a sunspot minimum?

Updated: 9/19/2023
User Avatar

Wiki User

13y ago

Best Answer

a sunspot minimum (also known as maunder minimum) is the name used for the period roughly spanning 1645 to 1715 when sunspots exceedingly became rare as noted by solar observers of the time.

User Avatar

Wiki User

13y ago
This answer is:
User Avatar

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: What is a sunspot minimum?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp
Continue Learning about Astronomy

What are sunspot maximums and sunspot minimums?

Sunspot maximum and sunspot minimum are the points in time (roughly 6 years apart) when the sun is producing the most, or the least sunspots. In the past this has been measured both by sunspot area and sunspot count and is directly tied to the solar magnetic cycle.


Which solar phenomenon appears in 10- to 12- year cycles?

The sunspot cycle is about 11 years long. This can vary somewhat; the current cycle has had an extended minimum with very few sunspots for about 3 years, and even now the sunspot numbers are very low for this point in the cycle.


What is the Maunder minimum?

The Maunder Minimum, also known as the "prolonged sunspot minimum", is the name used for the period starting in about 1645 and continuing to about 1715 when sunspots became exceedingly rare, as noted by solar observers of the time.


What is an example of a sunspot?

This question makes no sense. It's like asking "what is an example of a pencil?" A pencil is a pencil, and a sunspot is a sunspot.


When was the last sunspot maximum?

The last Solar Maximum was in 2002. The Sun is currently at the minimum of the sunspot cycle, perhaps just at the beginning of the new Cycle 24. So far, the Sunspot Number for February is Zero - no sunspots at all this month so far (as of February 8, 2009). You can check the sunspot number, and see fascinating things about things in space each day at www.spaceweather.com. It is currently focusing on photos of Comet Lulin, the Green Comet. _________________________________ The problem with WikiAnswers is that if you ask a question that is time-related, such as "When was the last sunspot maximum?", the answer becomes less and less useful as time goes by. The answer above was from February, 2009; today is April 10, 2014, five years later. The "last sunspot maximum" answer now would be "last month", since we're at or near the Solar Max. It's been a long time coming; the last solar cycle dawdled for a year longer than it should have, and this cycle looks like it's going to be well below the average of previous solar cycles. But the spaceweather.com website, linked below, is still the best resource for questions like this.

Related questions

What characterized the Maunder minimum?

low sunspot activity


What are sunspot maximums and sunspot minimums?

Sunspot maximum and sunspot minimum are the points in time (roughly 6 years apart) when the sun is producing the most, or the least sunspots. In the past this has been measured both by sunspot area and sunspot count and is directly tied to the solar magnetic cycle.


Which solar phenomenon appears in 10- to 12- year cycles?

The sunspot cycle is about 11 years long. This can vary somewhat; the current cycle has had an extended minimum with very few sunspots for about 3 years, and even now the sunspot numbers are very low for this point in the cycle.


Are sunspots most common during a sunspot minimum?

Sunspots are most common during a sunspot (solar magnetic) maximum, this occurs periodically, on an 11 year cycle.


Are the number of sunspots on the sun's surface always the same?

No, sunspot activity increases and decreases. Scientists have observed that the level of sunspot activity follows a cycle of about 11 years (11 years from maximum to maximum and 11 years from minimum to minimum).


Where are you in the sunspot cycle?

There are many sunspot cycles. The most common is every eleven years (about) but other cycles exist which either reinforce or cancel this out such as in the Maunder minimum (between 1650 and 1700), Dalton minimum (1800-1875), Sporer minimum, Wolf minimum and Oort Minimum. There was another unnamed minimum around 1900. The most recent maximums have been around 1958, 1969, 1980, 1991, 2001 and the next is due in one or two years time (2012-2013). At the moment (2010) we are near a minimum.


What is the Maunder minimum?

The Maunder Minimum, also known as the "prolonged sunspot minimum", is the name used for the period starting in about 1645 and continuing to about 1715 when sunspots became exceedingly rare, as noted by solar observers of the time.


What is maunder minimum?

The Maunder Minimum, also known as the "prolonged sunspot minimum", is the name used for the period starting in about 1645 and continuing to about 1715 when sunspots became exceedingly rare, as noted by solar observers of the time.


What is the largest sunspot?

Prominence Sunspot in 1945


When wil lthe next sunspot minimum and sunspot maximum occur after the maximum in 2001and the minimum in 2007?

The last sunspot cycle may have ended in December 2008 (Cycle 23). However, due to lack of sunspot activity, scientist are unsure whether cycle 23 has ended yet, or whether cycle 24 is just starting. A rough guess would place the timing around December 2009 but as with everything, nothing is certain, certainly not the sunspot cycle. (The 11 year cycle is a mean value and cannot be taken as precise). Given the approximate 11-year cycle, and assuming that cycle 24 started in January 2009, then the PEAK of sunspot activity should occur about 5 1/2 years from then, around summer 2014. See related links for more information


What is an example of a sunspot?

This question makes no sense. It's like asking "what is an example of a pencil?" A pencil is a pencil, and a sunspot is a sunspot.


When was the last sunspot maximum?

The last Solar Maximum was in 2002. The Sun is currently at the minimum of the sunspot cycle, perhaps just at the beginning of the new Cycle 24. So far, the Sunspot Number for February is Zero - no sunspots at all this month so far (as of February 8, 2009). You can check the sunspot number, and see fascinating things about things in space each day at www.spaceweather.com. It is currently focusing on photos of Comet Lulin, the Green Comet. _________________________________ The problem with WikiAnswers is that if you ask a question that is time-related, such as "When was the last sunspot maximum?", the answer becomes less and less useful as time goes by. The answer above was from February, 2009; today is April 10, 2014, five years later. The "last sunspot maximum" answer now would be "last month", since we're at or near the Solar Max. It's been a long time coming; the last solar cycle dawdled for a year longer than it should have, and this cycle looks like it's going to be well below the average of previous solar cycles. But the spaceweather.com website, linked below, is still the best resource for questions like this.