Re: [Phys-l] sunspots

[Pat Viele <ptv1@cornell.edu>]

Have you checked these out?

Solar cycle progression
Charts are provided of the progress of the current Solar cycle together 
with predictions for the next cycle. The charts include sunspot numbers, 
10.7 cm radio flux, and the planetary index, Ap. A table of recent Solar 
indices is also available. This website is a resource from the US 
National Weather Service Space Weather Prediction Center.
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/SolarCycle/

Space weather : Sun-Earth Connection Education Forum (SECEF) primer
This is a tutorial on the Sun, its internals, its life cycle and its 
activity. The site also examines how this affects the Earth and its 
magnetosphere. There are images and notes about the Solar interior, 
sunspots, the Solar activity cycle, Solar flares, coronal mass 
ejections, Solar wind, the magnetosphere, plasma clouds near the Earth, 
the ionosphere, and the auroras. This resource was developed for 
teachers, students and the general public by the NASA Office of Space 
Science Sun-Earth Connection Education Forum (SECEF).
http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/sechtml/tut.html

Pat



Anthony Lapinski wrote:
> I'm trying to understand the solar cycle rather than watch the Super Bowl.
> The Sun is definitely more interesting!
>
> I believe there is a correlation between sunspot numbers and our climate.
> As sunspot numbers increase, our oceans become (slightly) warmer. But
> since sunspots are relatively cool, this also means that the Sun's surface
> is cooler during these times. So I am puzzled how a cooler solar surface
> can make our oceans warmer. Or is it due to increased magnetic activity on
> the solar surface somehow causing changes in our climate?
>
> There is much information on the web regarding this, and some of the
> data/results are conflicting. I'm just trying to understand it on a
> "basic" level, but it seems very complex.
>
> _______________________________________________
> Forum for Physics Educators
> Phys-l@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu
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>   

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