Cosmic Rays and the Weakening Solar Cycle

[multiweb]

https://spaceweatherarchive.com/2020/08/11/cosmic-rays-are-about-to-get-worse/

[JA]

Thx for posting Marc.

Aside form the bad news/potential danger the article mentions for Astronauts in space from increasing cosmic rays, it would also be bad news for us on Earth as well since increased cosmic ray flux, especially with low solar output/activity (as evidenced by low current and recent sunspot activity) => more cloud cover = > colder temperatures. Who knows? It perhaps could be the forebear or trigger for a BIG Chill, something akin to the Maunder Minimum or the other more minor minima of the past few hundred years. It's cold enough now in our current winter, at least it feels so -Brrrrrrrr! - No thanks, we don't need a cold downtrend.

Best
JA

[Sunfish]

The sun has been quiet over the last few years. The possibility of a long minimum is interesting. Possibly more research into interstellar radiation will occur.
The electricity producers would be happy about less disruptions but I wonder if there would be weather changes and what they would look like. It would seems that know one knows. What next?

[multiweb]

There was another recent article possibly linking an extinction event 360 million years ago to a supernova in the vicinity. A combination of UV radiation and cosmic rays would have depleted the ozone layer. So if the cosmic rays shower increases that's another reason to look after our ozone layer a little better as Banana Boat 50+ won't cut it.

https://www.space.com/supernova-caused-earth-mass-extinction-devonian.html

https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2020/08/17/2013774117

[Retrograde]

I came across this interesting paper: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2006.15263.pdf which uses analysis of the Hale magnetic cycle and is actually predicting that solar cycle 25 will be one of the strongest observed.

Will certainly be interesting to see how the new cycle develops.