Illustrated Principle of Solar Medium Cycle

What is a solar cycle?

Solar cycles are nearly periodic 11-year changes in the Sun 's activity that are based on the number of sunspots present on the Sun's surface. The first solar cycle conventionally is said to have started in 1755. The source data are the revised International Sunspot Numbers (ISN v2.0), as available at SILSO.

Is the 11-year solar cycle the same as the Hale cycle?

Because nearly all manifestations are insensitive to polarity, the 11-year solar cycle remains the focus of research; however, the two halves of the Hale cycle are typically not identical: the 11-year cycles usually alternate between higher and lower sums of Wolf's sunspot numbers (the Gnevyshev-Ohl rule).

How does solar irradiance vary over the cycle?

Solar irradiance varies systematically over the cycle, both in total irradiance and in its relative components (UV vs visible and other frequencies). The solar luminosity is an estimated 0.07 percent brighter during the mid-cycle solar maximum than the terminal solar minimum.

Who discovered the solar cycle?

Cycles span from one minimum to the next. Samuel Heinrich Schwabe (1789–1875), German astronomer, discovered the solar cycle through extended observations of sunspots. Rudolf Wolf (1816–1893), Swiss astronomer, carried out historical reconstruction of solar activity back to the 17th century.

What happens during a solar cycle?

Over the period of a solar cycle, levels of solar radiation and ejection of solar material, the number and size of sunspots, solar flares, and coronal loops all exhibit a synchronized fluctuation from a period of minimum activity to a period of a maximum activity back to a period of minimum activity.

When did the first solar cycle start?

The first solar cycle conventionally is said to have started in 1755. The source data are the revised International Sunspot Numbers (ISN v2.0), as available at SILSO. Sunspot counts exist since 1610 but the cycle numbering is not well defined during the Maunder minimum.