{"id":40791,"date":"2023-01-19T11:19:25","date_gmt":"2023-01-19T11:19:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/?p=40791&preview=true&preview_id=40791"},"modified":"2023-01-19T11:19:25","modified_gmt":"2023-01-19T11:19:25","slug":"are-extended-cycles-shaping-sunspots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/2023\/01\/19\/are-extended-cycles-shaping-sunspots\/","title":{"rendered":"Are extended cycles shaping sunspots?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Twin 17-year solar cycles could be controlling the Sun\u2019s activity <\/p>\n\n

\"\"
Researchers have gained evidence to support a longer 17-year solar cycle by looking back at solar magnetic fields <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

The 11-year solar cycle could soon be usurped, following a new study that has given strong evidence for a rival idea. <\/p>\n\n

\u201cWe call it the Extended Solar Cycle (ESC),\u201d says Scott McIntosh from the National Centre for Atmospheric Research, who led the study. \u201cThere are two overlapping patterns of activity on the Sun, each lasting about 17 years.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

McIntosh used data taken by the Wilcox Solar Observatory (WSO) since 1976 to measure the changing magnetic field of the Sun and compared that to sunspot numbers. This gave strong indications for two cycles, offset by five years from each other to create the illusion of an 11-year pattern. <\/p>\n\n

\u201cThe Extended Solar Cycle may be telling us something crucial about what\u2019s happening deep inside the Sun where sunspot magnetic fields are generated,\u201d says McIntosh. \u201cIt poses significant challenges to prevalent dynamo theories of the solar cycle.\u201d ncar.ucar.edu<\/a> <\/p>\n\n

PHOTO: MALCOLM PARK\/ALAMY STOCK<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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