HD 166620 tagged posts

Nearby Star could help explain why our Sun didn’t have Sunspots for 70 years

A new study has identified a nearby star whose sunspot cycles appear to have stopped. Studying this star might help explain the period from the mid 1600s to the early 1700s when our Sun paused its sunspot cycles. This image depicts a typical 11-year cycle on the Sun, with the fewest sunspots appearing at its minimum (top left and top right) and the most appearing at its maximum (center). Credit: NASA

Astronomers identified a nearby star whose sunspot cycles appear to have stopped. Studying this star might help explain the unusual period from the mid 1600s to the early 1700s when our Sun paused its sunspot cycles.

The number of sunspots on our Sun typically ebbs and flows in a predictable 11-year cycle, but one unusual 70-year period when sunspots were incredibly rare has mystified s...

Read More