Calm solar cycle prompts questions about impact on Earth
http://news.yahoo.com/calm-solar-cycle-prompts-questions-impact-earth-213912384.html
Washington (AFP) - The surface of the sun has been surprisingly calm of late -- with fewer sunspots than anytime in in the last century -- prompting curious scientists to wonder just what it might mean here on Earth.
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The last time that happened, during the so-called "Maunder Minimum" between 1650 and 1715, almost no sunspots were observed. During the same period, temperatures dropped sharply on Earth, sparking what is called the "Little Ice Age" in Europe and North America.
(Article is its entirety is at the link. Zim.)

Mad Poet Strikes Again.