Sun is Blank

[Cow Poke]

Usually I have something more to add that hasn't been covered.

Ah, OK. It looked like hype, which is why I posted it as a "what about this", rather than "hey, lookie here!"

[rogue06]

When has that ever stopped you before?

Usually I have something more to add that hasn't been covered.

[Cow Poke]

Looks like this has already been pretty well debunked before I had a chance to add my two cents [ATTACH=CONFIG]25473[/ATTACH]

When has that ever stopped you before?

[Christianbookworm]

Hmmm... cycles? The Sun gets moody? Except it's a ball of nuclear fusioning hydrogen and helium, so I doubt it has feelings.

[rogue06]

Looks like this has already been pretty well debunked before I had a chance to add my two cents smiley dejected.gif

[Cow Poke]

I think it's worthwhile to note that the basic fact here - the sun's in a period of relatively low activity, and that's included periods without sunspots - is fine. Where Watts will go wrong is interpreting that as "so we can expect the earth to start cooling." He's even repeated claims that it's going to be plunging us into a mini-ice age in the coming decades.

Which is all bogus. Scientists aren't idiots, and we can measure the amount of incoming solar radiation and calculate the magnitude of its effect on the earth's energy balance. We can do the same for greenhouse gasses. And we know that the greenhouse effect will swamp the effect of the changes in solar cycle. And, in fact, when we do the measurements, that's exactly what we see:


Watts, of course, relies on people being willing to believe that scientists are idiots.

Thanks

[TheLurch]

OK, you science types....

bogus website? Hype? What's this all about?

I think it's worthwhile to note that the basic fact here - the sun's in a period of relatively low activity, and that's included periods without sunspots - is fine. Where Watts will go wrong is interpreting that as "so we can expect the earth to start cooling." He's even repeated claims that it's going to be plunging us into a mini-ice age in the coming decades.

Which is all bogus. Scientists aren't idiots, and we can measure the amount of incoming solar radiation and calculate the magnitude of its effect on the earth's energy balance. We can do the same for greenhouse gasses. And we know that the greenhouse effect will swamp the effect of the changes in solar cycle. And, in fact, when we do the measurements, that's exactly what we see:


Watts, of course, relies on people being willing to believe that scientists are idiots.

[Cow Poke]

Yes to both. Watts' is a well-known climate crank.

Ah, ok. I kinda thought I remembered something about this, so....

Thanks

[JimL]

OK, you science types....

bogus website? Hype? What's this all about?

The sun is blank, NASA data shows it to be dimming[ATTACH=CONFIG]25472[/ATTACH]

The guys a crackpot climate change denier cited by many here on tweb in past debates on global warming.

[Juvenal]

OK, you science types....

bogus website? Hype?

Yes to both. Watts' is a well-known climate crank.

What's this all about?

It's hard to tell what's set him off this time, but it's been well known that sunspot activity affects irradiance for, well, a lot longer than any of us have been following climate science. Variations in sunspot activity have been noted since Galileo, centuries in any case. The 11-year sunspot cycle has been known nearly as long.

Not that it makes any difference to cranks, but Watts really shouldn't be blasting off about dimming considering he's been pushing the idea that the sun has been driving temperatures higher for years. He's going to be wrong against the science, given his history, but it would help if he at least tried not to be wrong against himself.

[Cow Poke]

OK, you science types....

bogus website? Hype? What's this all about?

The sun is blank, NASA data shows it to be dimminglatest_512_hmiic1.jpg