SCIENCE FILE: An exploration of issues and trends affecting science, medicine and the environment. : Caltech Astronomers Detect 1st Sunspot in New Cycle of Activity
<i> From Times staff and wire reports</i>
Caltech astronomers have detected the first sunspot of a new sunspot cycle, marking the end of the sun’s quiescent period and the beginning of a new surge of activity. The spot was observed Aug. 12 by Hal Zirin and his colleagues at Big Bear Solar Observatory.
Sunspots--dark areas on the sun’s surface associated with strong magnetic fields, solar flares and disruptions of radio communications on Earth--have an 11-year cycle marked by increasing activity followed by a slow decline into quiescence. New cycles typically begin at high solar latitudes, between 30 and 35 degrees, and progress toward the Equator.
