Although we’ve been covering this quiet sun issue for over a year on WUWT, the light bulb seems to have gone on for mainstream media right about now.
There is growing press coverage about the current state of the sun, most recently from Charles Osgood of CBS News as well as the BBC and other major outlets. While the sun slumbers deeper and has missed its cyclic snooze alarm, our media is finally waking up to the solar somnolence.
Here is a short roundup of news articles on this subject today:
‘Still Sun’ baffling astronomers
Scientists warn sun has dimmed
Sun ‘at its quietest for 100 years’
Has the sun gone in? Earth’s closest star ‘dimmest it’s been for a century’
So the question arises, now that this has been identified, what should we call it?
There have been some good ideas, such as naming it after Jack Eddy, who coined the phrase “Maunder Minimum“. There’s been some discussion of a “Gore Minimum”, but I don’t like the idea of giving Gore credit for something he has nothing to do with, or even likely understands. There’s been suggestion of “The Hansen Minimum” which makes a little more sense, since he’s an astronomer by training. On that note, Leif Svalgaard predicted this, so maybe it should be his honor.
So, I’ve decided to have a poll, and I’ll take suggestions for other names than what I’ve listed.
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Its nice to see that some in the “mainstream media” are finally catching on that the sun’s activity is at a very low ebb and that might have consequences for the earth’s climate going forward.
What puzzles me is how many highly educated supporters of AGW are so dense as to not understand any of the compelling evidence against global warming. Things like that the length of the solar cycle is highly and negatively correlated to the earth’s temperature (and we are now at or near the end of a distinctly long solar cycle), that over geological time CO2 levels followed rather than preceded temperature change (making it virtually impossible that CO2 levels drove climate change in the past), that relying on computer models never successfully tested on “out-of-sample” data is foolhardy, etc.
Many of the AGW crowd have Ph.D.’s in hard sciences yet they are espousing a cause that (to me) defies common sense. Furthermore, are pushing a regulatory agenda that is environmentally meaningless and will be an economic disaster. Why can’t they figure out what Charles Osgood and us at this website already know?
Re: The Igno Minimum
Nice.
I like either Landscheidt Minimum (scholarly) or Inconvenient Minimum (ironic).
Although Leif predicted fewer sunspots, my impression is that he’s not at all convinced that this will even be a minimum, let alone predicting it as such.
I also like the Watts Minimum since Anthony has brought a wider audience to this subject than anyone, and it’s quite catchy with its double entendre.
Some of the other options (Landscheidt, Inconvenient, Watts) need to be added to the Poll so that over the next few days we have a level playing field for the various choices. In fact, why not replace Gore and Hansen with them? Like so many others, the idea of recognizing either of them in any way just leaves me cold….
Kate
The Clearly Alarming Minimum, The Alarmingly Accelerating Minimum, The Alarmingly Decelerating Minimum, The Climate Catastrophe Minimum, The Meltdown of Sanity Minimum, The Miracle Minimum, The Minimized Minimum, The Minimal Minimum, The Maximum Minimum, The Pre-Max Minimum, The Ultimate Minimum, The Penultimate Minimum, The Marginally Alarming Minimum, The Marginal Minimum, The Insignificant Minimum, The Minor Minimum, The Negligible Minimum, The Underrated Minimum, The Overrated Minimum, The Untimely Minimum, The Opportune Minimum, The Inopportune Minimum, The Embarrassing Minimum…
OK enough fun with the Thesaurus…
The Leif Lull
Landscheidt minimum
If we call it the Gore Minimum it will undoubtedly snow on the sun’s surface.
A lot of people seem to assume that this means cooling. As far as I can see Leif isn’t saying that. I await with interest to see what happens. One name that isn’t mentioned as far as I can see is Fairbridge. I think Landscheit owes something to him.
I wrote in “Inconvenient Minimum”, but almost submitted “The Shinola Minimum” since it would be interesting to see if Gore and his flock could differentiate solar phenomena from the warm steamy Sins of Mankind Theory
The Mote in Gore’s Eye
Following up the idea from David Quist @ur momisugly 12:17:53:
The Canute Minimum.
Leif fer sure,I dissagree with some of what he says,but by training I’m a Biologist,not a
Solar expert and never used my degree,,,
No Gore or Hansen-maybe name the Ice field covering Chicago,after one of them,
but not this minimum…
Re Mike Bryant (16:32:58) :
If we call it the Gore Minimum it will undoubtedly snow on the sun’s surface.
*ROTFL*
How about the “SOHO Minimum”
Most of the sun freckles that keep resetting the spotless days count are only visible from its images.
Just a thought: What is Gore’s Truth Footprint 🙂
After casting my vote, and then experiencing the all-too-rare feeling of ‘Yehah’ that inevitably accompanies the inward satisfaction that can only be met by picking the best candidate- all I can add is a humble appeal to maintain a noble, respectfull and mature approach that respects all the candidates for this particular award.
Leif, Leif you’re the man. Kick ’em in the biosphere. If you can!
I voted for the Svalgaard Minimum, for an honest scientist, who has been generous with his time on this site, as well as for his prediction.
Jerry Haney
How about the Gored Watts minimum?
I asked my wife if she had a suggestion for the name of the new minimum… She said “Bob”… no “The”, no “Minimum” just… “Bob”… then she made me promise to put it in comments here. I suggested “Robert” because it’s more formal but she said, “No, Bob.” So here it is:
“Bob”
Reply: Do you really want to go there? ~ charles the moderator
If you want to name something after Gore, why not using that name for designating any exhaust, chimneys, ….also those…, any death or living duct expelling the so called “green house gases”
Isn’t it whoever’s prediction is most accurate?
Last year I bagsied Octember 2009, which is Archibald’s prediction plus 2.5 months to compensate for the Dec2007\Jan2008 1st SC24 spot being so weak that most obsevation tools over the last 300 years probably wouldn’t have seen it. We’re using the ‘min is 10 to 20 months after 1st spot of new cycle’ rule here btw. This rule disqualifies Svalgaard’s assertion of min = August 2008 from the running btw.
So looks like it’ll be the meemoe_uk minimum.
Rock on!
Gore already was handed the Nobel prize and the carbon credit franchise, no need to swell his head any more: click
Great comments btw everyone. Funny thread!
“Gore (as a bull) Obama Minimum”
As many here will know, King Canute ordered back the sea not because he believed he had that power but to demonstrate the opposite to his more sycophantic courtiers.
Most people are unaware of this and Canute is now considered a joke.
The ‘Gore Minimum’ may well lead to future generations believing that our Al was a great scientist.
Beware!