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Sunspots and the Earth's atmosphere

The atmosphere of the sun has a profound impact on the earth. Our daily lives are directly influenced by the effect of solar radiation. Earth climate is governed by a very simple and fundamental principle: "the energy to come out". Energy comes from sunlight by most in the form of visible and ultraviolet (UV). The energy moves into space by light infrared glow until the surface of the earth and atmosphere.

energy flow of earth and output can be completely out of balance at any given time or location, but average for the entire planet over a long period, the flow of energy must be balanced. If global flows of energy are out of equilibrium, the temperature of the earth surface increases or falls, seeking a new balance (1).

A change in the Earth's temperature affects the energy flow outward, according to a fundamental law of physics called the Stephan-Boltzmann relationship, which states that energy flows out of an object increases the object is worming. According to the report, an object emits energy at a rate equal to εσT4 where this flow of energy is in units of W/m2, epsilon (ε) is the emissivity, which reflects the efficiency with which the material emits energy, sigma (Σ) is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant which has the value 5.67X10-8W / (m2k4), and T is temperature in Kelvin. The reaction of Stefan-Boltzmann said that ordinary object emits light all the time as long as its temperature is above absolute zero (-2730C or-4590F). For example, an electric burner on a burning stove with a visible light red when it is hot to the touch. But at room temperature, the burner still emits radiation, but in the infrared spectrum that our eyes do can see (1).

Archer and Rahmstorf (1) stated that the brightness of the sun varies naturally over time. The best variation of intensity solar, and easier to measure, seems to be a part of the sunspot cycle about 11 years. In recent decades, the maximum in the sunspot cycle Solar brings can be 100 dark spots on the surface of the sun in the lower part of the cycle, there may be no spots at all. Although each individual sunspot is a cold region, across the sun shines more brightly when there are lots of sunspots. Precise measurements of the intensity solar return over three decades, and reveal the cycle of sunspots the sun alters the intensity of 0.08%. When this intensity is on average over the entire surface of the earth and corrected for the albedo of the Earth, resulting in radiative forcing variations of about 0.2 W/m2.

In 1610, shortly after seeing the sun with his new telescope, Galileo Galilei (or was it Thomas Harriot?) Made the first observations of sunspots Europe. Continuous daily observations were

Started at the Zurich Observatory in 1849 and earlier observations were used to extend the records of 1610. The sunspot number is calculated by counting the number of sunspot groups and the number of individual sunspots (2).

Sunspots

Sunspots are dark, planet-sized regions that appear on the "surface" of the sun. Sunspots are "dark" because they are cooler than the areas around them. A great spot Sun could have a temperature of about 4000 K (about 3,700 ° C or 6700 ° F). This is much lower than the K 5800 (about 5,500 ° C or ° F 10,000) the temperature of the photosphere light surrounding sunspots.

Sunspots are only negative against the luminous face of the sun. If you could cut an average sunspot sun and place it in the night sky, it would be as bright as the full moon. Sunspots have a lighter outer section called the dark, medium and dark region called the shadow. Sunspots are caused by the Sun's magnetic field springing up in the photosphere, sun's visible "surface". The powerful magnetic fields around sunspots produce active regions of the Sun, which often lead to solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CME). The sunspot flares and CMEs are called "solar storms". Sunspots form over periods ranging from days or weeks and can last for weeks or months. The average number of points that can be seen on the face of the sun is not always the same, but rises and falls in a cycle (3).

The "number of sunspots is then given by the sum of the number of individual sunspots and ten times the number of groups. Since most sunspot groups have, on average, about ten points, this formula for counting sunspots gives reliable numbers even when viewing conditions are less ideal locations are small and difficult to see. Monthly averages (updated monthly) the number of sunspots show that the number of sunspots visible on the sun waxes and wanes in a cycle of approximately 11 years (2).

Minimum ramble

Early records of sunspots indicate that the sun has gone through a period of inactivity in the late 17th century. Very few sunspots were seen on the sun about 1645 to 1715, this period is called Maunder Minimum. Although the observations are not as extensive as in later years, the sun was in fact well observed during this period and this lack of sunspots is well documented. This period solar inactivity also corresponds to a climatic period called the "Little Ice Age" when the rivers that are normally ice-free frozen and snow fields remained year-round at lower elevations. It is proved that the sun has had similar periods of inactivity in the more distant past. The link between solar activity and terrestrial climate is an area of ongoing research (2). The lack of sunspots means a cooler sun at this time, driven by a decrease in radiative forcing of about 0.12 W/m2, much smaller than the radiative forcing forcing increased greenhouse gas emissions by about 3.6 W/m2 (1).

The butterfly diagram

Comments Detailed sunspots have been obtained by the Royal Greenwich Observatory since 1874. These observations include information on the sizes and positions Sunspots and their numbers. These data show that sunspots do not appear randomly on the surface of the sun but are concentrated in two latitude bands each side of the equator. A butterfly diagram (updated monthly) showing the positions of spots for each rotation of the sun from May 1874 shows that form of these first groups of mid-latitudes, widen, and then move toward the equator that each cycle progresses (2).

The Greenwich sunspot data

The Royal Greenwich Observatory was annexed data with data obtained by the U.S. Air Force Solar Optical Observation Network since 1977. This new data has been reformatted to comply with the data over Greenwich and both are available a local directory of ASCII files. Each file contains records for a year and a fact sheet providing information on individual observations daily active regions (2).

Direct observations over the past four centuries shows that the number of sunspots observed on the surface the sun varies periodically, through the successive maxima and minima. After 23 cycles of sunspots, the sun has long characterized by minimal by a very weak magnetic field and polar an unusually high number of days with no sunspots. Sunspots are regions of strongly magnetized generated by a dynamo mechanism that recreates the field of solar polar mediated plasma flow. Here Nandy et al (4) Report the results of kinematic dynamo simulations that show that a fast flow meridian in the first half of the cycle, followed by a slower flow in the second half, reproduced both the characteristics of minimum sunspot cycle 23. Their model (4) provides that, in general, very deep minima are associated with low polar fields. Sunspots govern the energy of sunlight to stream the radio, and in conjunction with the polar domain, modulate the solar wind, open heliospheric flux and, consequently, the flux of cosmic rays on earth.

An analysis of satellite data challenges of the intuitive idea that the decrease in solar activity cools the earth, and vice versa. In fact, solar forcing of climate surface of the earth seems to work in opposite directions about - at least the sun during the cycle. Joanna Haigh, an atmospheric physicist at Imperial College London and colleagues (5) analysis of measures Daily spectral composition of sunlight between 2004 and 2007 by NASA solar radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) satellite. They found that the quantity ground visible light to more that solar activity has decreased - the warming of the earth surface. The study period covers the declining phase of the current solar cycle. Solar activity, which in the current cycle peaked around 2001, reached a pronounced minimum at late 2009 during which no sunspots were observed for an unusually long period. Sunspots, dark areas of temperature small area on the sun caused by intense magnetic activity, are the best known manifestation of the visible solar cycle 11. They were regularly observed and recorded since the dawn of modern astronomy in the seventeenth century. But measurements of wavelengths of solar radiation have until been rare. Leakage radiation Haigh team compared data from SORCE solar spectrum wavelength predicted by an empirical model based primarily the sunspot number and area, and noticed unexpected differences. The amount of ultraviolet radiation in the spectrum was four to six times smaller than that predicted by the empirical model, but an increase in radiation in the visible wavelength, which heats the earth's surface, offset decline (5).

Contrary to expectations, the net amount of solar energy reaching Earth's troposphere - the lowest part of the atmosphere - Seems to have been greater in 2007 than in 2004 despite the decline in solar activity during this period. Spectral changes appear to have modified the distribution of molecules of ozone above the troposphere. In a simulation model, the abundance of ozone has dropped below an altitude of 45 km altitude in the period 2004-07, and further increased in the atmosphere. The modeled changes are compatible with satellite measurements of ozone during the same period (5). The implications of the discovery are not clear. Haigh (5) says that the current solar cycle could be different from previous cycles, for unknown reasons. But it is also possible that the effects of solar variability on atmospheric temperatures and ozone are substantially different from what has already been supported.

Michael Lockwood, a physicist at the University of space Reading, United Kingdom, said that the data seem incredibly important and if solar activity is not consistent with radiative forcing solar he could change his understanding of how processes in the troposphere and stratosphere act to modulate the earth's climate. Some meteorologists believe that during times of low solar activity, "blocking events" - unusual patterns in the western air currents that can cause cold snaps and freak weather in Europe - are occurring more frequently. A blocking event is thought to have caused the transport to the southern Clouds of ash after the eruption of the volcano on Mars Eyjafjallajökull Iceland, which disrupted the flow of air through Europe. But no link between the recent weather anomalies and specific as possible in the current solar cycle is speculative at the moment, "said Lockwood.

During the three-year study period, variations in the solar spectrum have almost as much warming surface of the earth as increases in carbon dioxide emissions. But because solar activity is cyclical, it should have no impact long-term climate, regardless of whether similar changes have occurred during previous solar cycles spectral (5).

The sun swings magnetic activity of minimal to no more than an average of 11 years. Variations (which affects the quantum of radiation reaching the earth) are measured by the number and location of sunspots visible. Increased solar activity, which implies huge eruptions of charged particles and intense emission of radiation can affect satellites, communications systems and feeding, and pose serious health risk to astronauts. The next solar maximum is expected around 2013. Geomagnetic storms can be caused by solar flares and mass ejection associated with the solar corona. It occurs when the load solar particles interact with Earth's magnetic field. Sunspots influence production of energy from the sun, the more sunspots, the higher energy production. This, in turn, increases the heat received by the earth, the weather determines the planet and climate.

References:

Archer. D and Rahmstorf. S. In: Climate Crisis, An Introductory Guide to Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, New York (2010).
http://solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov/SunspotCycle.shtml
href = "http://www.windows2universe.org/sun/atmosphere/sunspots.html" http://www.windows2universe.org/sun/atmosphere/sunspots.html>
Nandy, D. et al. Nature 471 80-82 (2011)
http://www.nature.com/news/2010/101006/full/news.2010.519.html

About the Author

I was born in Kolkata, Qualified Ph.D on 1989 from Calcutta University (Spl. Endocrinology), acquired research experience of more than 22 years with publications of around 29 papers in various national / international journals , acquired teaching experience of more than 15 years, acquired experience of writing biology text book under ISC course which is currently under Cambridge press (Kolkata) for publication. Awarded Sangit Prabhakar and Prayag Sangit Samiti in Indian Classical music. Awarded certificate of appreciation – Celebrations of the centenary of Ramkrishna Mission & of Swamy Vivekananda's historic return from west in 1897 as well as of 66th foundation day of the pratisthan. Ramakrishna Mission Seva Pratisthan (Kol-India), expressed its participation of my contribution to the success of the seminar in 1997.

Breaking News: The Entire Earth is going to be burnt to a Crisp in 2012.

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