Massive Sun spots causing disasters

I've read these articles concerning the Sun Spots:

" Starting in 1978, solar irradiance variations were detected and then monitored by a series of spacecraft, among which the Solar Maximum Mission (SMM) produced a continuous series of measurements between 1980 and 1989 (Willson 1994). Power spectrum analyses of the SMM data show that there is significant variability on timescales ranging from 5 minutes to a decade (Fröhlich 1994; Pelletier 1996). In particular, we now know that the Sun dims for a few days by as much as 0.2% as large sunspot groups transit the solar disk (Willson et al. 1981). We also know that the Sun dimmed by about 1% between 1980 and 1986, in phase with decreasing solar activity during the declining half of cycle 21 (Willson & Hudson 1991). Current interpretations model the cyclic variation of solar irradiance as a slight imbalance between the flux deficit produced by dark sunspots and the excess flux produced by bright faculae, with the facular effects dominating the competition."


...

"Some stars have so many spots, or possibly a few very large ones, that they grow brighter and dimmer by as much as 20% as they rotate and their spotted sides come in and out of view as seen from Earth. One active red giant star, HD 12545, has a truly enormous starspot. The single spot covers 11% of the entire surface area of the giant star, which has a radius 11.4 times the size of our Sun. This gigantic elliptical spot has dimensions of about 12 by 20 solar radii and covers an area about 10,000 times greater than the largest sunspots observed on the Sun."

...

With regards to the violent solar flares induced by the Sun Spots:

"Sometimes in complex sunspot groups, abrupt, violent explosions from the sun occur. These are called solar flares. Solar flares are thought to be caused by sudden magnetic field changes in areas where the sun's magnetic field is concentrated. Solar flares are accompanied by the release of gas, electrons, visible light, ultraviolet light and X-rays."

...

With regards to the CME disrupting and compressing the Earth's magnetic field:

"By compressing and jostling Earth's magnetosphere, the shock wave barreling in front of a CME delivers a punch that energizes charged particles within this magnetic shield. The magnetosphere may suddenly shrink, as it did in the aftermath of the Bastille Day storm. Normally extending 64,000 km from Earth's surface, the magnetosphere constricted to nearly half that length, notes space scientist Nicola J. Fox of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. She and other scientists described the Bastille Day eruptions late last month at a NASA press briefing."

...

And, without the Earth's magnetic field:

"Twisted arcs of magnetic force carry spectacular eruptions of solar matter into space. Without Earth's own protective magnetic shield, we would be exposed to lethal doses of high-energy radiation and solar particles.Without this protective force field, the Sun's blasts would long ago have wiped out life on the planet's surface."

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Reading the articles above, my questions are:

1.Would it be likely that the Sun will produce an array of massive Sun spots due to some strange magnetic phenomena and thus dimming it considerably by as much as 1/3?

2. Would this induce massive solar flares / CME's that will hit the Earth violently, compressing the magnetosphere so much that it disrupts the internal core of the Earth and totally canceling out the magnetosphere for a period of time?

3. Would the absence of the magnetosphere burns up forests, grasses, and etc?

 

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1: Stars exhibiting such large fluctuations as you describe are different in size, chemistry, and age from the sun. The possibility of a 33% dimming is so remote as to be practically impossible.
2: The disruption of the magnetosphere would have no discernible effect on the electrodynamical processes generating the magentosphere. The core would be unaffected.
3: Surface temperatures would not increase in any significant, or dramatic way.

 

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Let say, it happened. The Sun dimmed 1/3 due to the massive spots. What will happen to Earth?

 

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Climactic upheaval. Ice age. Outbreaks of religious cults. The third test at Heddingly might be postponed.

 

Isn't that spelled "Headingly"?

 

Almost certainly. I don't follow cricket, but am aware it will continue through faminine, pestilence and nuclear holocaust, but will be terminated at the first sign of rain. (Many believe the game itself to be derived from the rain dances of ancient Britons.)

 

I guess your joking there mon. Doesnt a sun spot vanish in a few days? It might cool down a bit, but there wouldnt be 1/3 sunlight lost long enough to freeze the Earth.

And I think the magnetic chaos that caused the giant sun spots would be more dangerous. Think what it could do to satelites, TV, computers? The radiation & plasma hitting the atmosphere might kill people up in planes, or at least make them impotent..

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BoSmoke, the solar output may look like it's dimmed by sunspots but they are accompanied by eruptions that actually increase heating of the planets.

 

So your saying the spots dont happen without flares? I thought they were just magnetic focus points that drew some heat away from the sun's surface.

 

That's true. If the Sun dimmed by 1/3, we know how large the sunspots are and we know what will come next - a Superflare that will scorch the whole planet.

 

Usually, when there are sun spots, solar flares are likely to occur at any moment.

 

I don't think an Ice age will likely to occur if the sun was dimmed by 1/3 due to the massive sun spots. What will happen here is a heat wave so hot that will scorch people to death.

Ice age will only happen when there is less activity in the sun and no sun spots at all.

More activity, more heat generated. Less activity, less heat generated.

There is a link between global warming and the activity of the Sun. We are nearing the 11 year cycle of the sun, so it is probable that we are seeing it's effect, like global warming and freak weather patterns like Hurricane Katrina. The Earth is not the only planet that is experiencing global warming, Mars too.

 

Wouldn't the planet flood first from the melted polar ice caps? We would drown before we were scorched with global warming and how soon?

 

It takes time before that could happen. The Sun's increasing activity must be sustained, enough to cause global flooding. So, when we see the Sun dimming in the afternoon, like a sunrise or a sunset light, or in the other part of the Earth, the moon begins to dim, we know a superflare will be heading soon. It won't last so as to cause global flooding, but it will last for a moment, a short moment. But, at that space of short moment, it will cause so much death and destruction.

 

In case you hadn't noticed, sunspots are cooler than the rest of the sun's surface. More spots means less radiated heat.

Some of your other ideas also seem out of left field.

 

Sunspots by itself are cooler, but they don't last that long as to cause an ice age. What is devastating here is not the sunspots itself, it's just an indicator of what will happen next, but, what accompanies it, and that is a superflare, if let say 1/3 of the Sun dims. It's like its loading up to fire.

Now, there's no evidence yet it happened before on Earth, but there are systems which has the same size as our Sun which throws out a superflare. Nobody knows what causes it, some say it is due to some huge planet orbiting the sun sized star, and once their magnetic field twists, it causes massive sunspots to appear, dimming for a moment, then boom - a superflare erupts.

The only large planet we have in our solar system is Jupiter, but it's just too far away.

 

Most solar flares and coronal mass ejections occur around the magnetically active regions of sunspot groupings.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunspot

Brights, your ideas are right on the money. More solar activity comes with more sunspots.

 

If you had even bothered to read the article you linked to, you'd clearly see that he is WRONG. More sunspots, lower temperatues in those regions and thus less heat output.

From the article: "A sunspot is a region on the Sun's surface (photosphere) that is marked by a lower temperature than its surroundings and has intense magnetic activity, which inhibits convection, forming areas of low surface temperature. Although they are blindingly bright at temperatures of roughly 4000-4500 K, the contrast with the surrounding material at about 5800 K leaves them clearly visible as dark spots."

 

Solar activity is defined by the presence, or absence, of sunspots. Apart from thathis ideas are so far from the money he'll have to hitch hike home.

 

Id not heard of that. Flare stars are much smaller stars than the sun right? Theyre so dim and red normally that a flare makes them look much brighter for a while - but a flare the same size on our sun doesnt make much diference to its total brightness.