Sun reportedly entering ‘Solar Minimum’

Context:

As per experts’ reports, the Sun has gone into a state called the ‘solar minimum’ and is about to enter the deepest period of ‘sunshine recession’ as sunspots are virtually not visible at all.

About Solar Minimum

• Sun has a cycle that lasts on average 11 years, and right now we are at the peak of that cycle.
• Every 11 years or so, sunspots fade away, bringing a period of relative calm. This is called the solar minimum. And it’s a regular part of the sunspot cycle.
• While intense activity such as sunspots and solar flares subside during solar minimum, that doesn’t mean the sun becomes dull.
• Solar activity simply changes form.

How does it happen?

• The solar cycle is based on the Sun’s magnetic field, which flips around every 11 years, with its north and south magnetic poles switching places.
• It’s not known what drives these cycles – recent research suggests it has to do with an 11.07-year planetary alignment – but the poles switch when the magnetic field is at its weakest, also known as solar minimum.
• Because the Sun’s magnetic field controls solar activity – sunspots, coronal mass ejections, and solar flares – the cycle is detectable as that activity changes.
• During solar minimum, there are, well, minimal sunspots and flares. This gradually changes as the Sun ramps up to the solar maximum.
• The magnetic field grows stronger, and sunspot and flare activity increases, before subsiding again for the next solar minimum.

Is it a repeat of Dalton Minimum?

• NASA scientists fear it could be a repeat of the Dalton Minimum, which happened between 1790 and 1830 — leading to periods of brutal cold, crop loss, famine, and powerful volcanic eruptions.
  • Temperatures plummeted by up to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) over 20 years, devastating the world’s food production.
• It also led to the so-called Year Without a Summer in 1816

Impacts:

• Affecting Earth’s upper atmosphere: Excess cosmic rays pose a health hazard to astronauts and polar air travelers, affect the electro-chemistry of Earth’s upper atmosphere, and may help trigger lightning.
• Affecting radio communication & satellites: More aurora activity can be noticed during solar maximum since auroras are generated by solar activity. Increased solar activity can also affect radio communications and navigation satellites.
• Affecting higher altitudes: At a solar minimum, solar ultraviolet radiation decreases, but the effect of this primarily hits the stratosphere and higher altitudes.
• Shrinkage: It causes Earth’s atmosphere to shrink slightly, which reduces drag on satellites.
• More rainfall: Conversely, the increase in UV radiation during solar maximum contributes to rainfall, but the effect on temperature is negligible.