After my gloomy prognostications in the previous post, here's some good news courtesy of that well-known spelling mistake, Leif Svalgaard - well, I always spell his name wrong! He is a distinguished solar scientist who comments frequently and usefully at Anthony Watt's indispensable site. If you look carefully at the picture below do not attempt to flick those little specks off in the mistaken belief that it's some fag ash carelessly dropped by myself or Dr? Prof? (not sure which) Svalgaard. They are in fact sun spots and there is enough energy in those little specks to light several trillion billion fags! They are important because, at long last, they indicate, I put it no higher, that the next solar cycle, #24, is possibly beginning. I incline to the view that the earth's climate is hugely effected by the sun. I do this, in the finest traditions of Duff and Nonsense, on the basis of absolutely nil knowledge - so no change there, then! However, having read proponents of various theories on this tricky subject I trust the likes of Svalgaard who is always cautious and careful in his remarks. As far as you and I are concerned it's important because if the lack of activity in the sun had continued (and it still might) there is a goodly chance that we would have entered a cool, or even a cold, period. On the whole global warming is "A Good Thing"; global cooling, on the other hand, is a disaster!
For some reason David, I thought I'd sent this in an earlier email. Guess not. This particular link isn't really helpful for the amateur but this site does have further link-outs that (should Al happen by D&N) prove "enlightening" to the sturdiest goofball.
http://solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov/predict.shtml
Posted by: JK | Tuesday, 07 July 2009 at 03:44
Thanks for that link, 'JK', looks interesting.
Posted by: David Duff | Tuesday, 07 July 2009 at 22:42