Sun has likely entered new evolutionary phase

The Sun has likely already entered into a new unpredicted long-term phase of its evolution as a hydrogen-burning main sequence star — one characterized by magnetic sputtering indicative of a more quiescent middle-age. Or so say the authors of a new paper submitted to The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
Using observations of other sunlike stars made by NASA ’s Kepler Space Telescope, the team found that the Sun is currently in a special phase of its magnetic evolution.
Heretofore, the Sun was thought to have been just a more slowly rotating version of a normal yellow dwarf (G-spectral type) star. These results offer the first real confirmation that the Sun is in the process of crossing into its magnetic middle age, where its 11-year Sunspot cycles are likely to slowly disappear entirely. That is, from here on out, the Sun is likely to have fewer sunspots than during the first half of its estimated 10 billion year life as a hydrogen-burning star.
So, what sort of long-term impact will such a shift in the Sun’s magnetic evolution have on Earth’s climate?
The brightness of the Sun changes by about a tenth of one percent from minimum solar activity to maximum solar activity, according to authors. And given current levels of heat trapped by manmade pollution, even if the Sun transitions permanently to a minimum state, he says, the cooling effect on Earth’s climate would still be negligible.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedo...lutionary-phase-say-astronomers/#28f4e189278e

 

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I find it rather surprising that we should just happen to be around when this transition occurs. Were I a conspiracy theorist I could make much of this.

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Interesting hypothesis. We should be able to detect the changes over the next several million years to verify the hypothesis.

 

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Similarly, one might expect a sinister theory camp to grow up around the coincidence of the Sun and Moon appearing approximately the same size as viewed from Earth at the time when we're around. But a superficial search just turns up The Flat Earth Society making honorable mentions of it; along with reptilian-alien agitator David Icke in connection to the old Soviet "The Moon is a hollowed-out spaceship!" romp.

So take heart, any independent cabal fighters still wandering about without a specific sect to call their own: There might still be some unsettled or unclaimed territory in these specific areas of the "list of solar system coincidences" to set up new denominations of crankhood on.

http://earthsky.org/space/coincidence-that-sun-and-moon-seem-same-size

 

I thought of mentioning that one and following up with a list of all the coincidences that might have occurred, but haven't. Then I got bored.