Editing 2725: Sunspot Cycle
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
β | The {{w|solar cycle}} is a roughly 11-year cycle of changes in the Sun's activity (sunspots, solar radiation, ejecta, and solar flares), from a period of {{w|Solar minimum|minimal activity}} to {{w|Solar maximum|maximum solar activity}}. Researchers use specially modified telescopes to study the sun. Sunspots are areas on the sun which are slightly less hot than the surrounding material, so they appear as | + | The {{w|solar cycle}} is a roughly 11-year cycle of changes in the Sun's activity (sunspots, solar radiation, ejecta, and solar flares), from a period of {{w|Solar minimum|minimal activity}} to {{w|Solar maximum|maximum solar activity}}. Researchers use specially modified telescopes to study the sun. Sunspots are areas on the sun which are slightly less hot than the surrounding material, so they appear as black patches when viewed through these telescopes, but they're not visible to the naked eye and do not meaningfully impact the amount of light that reaches the Earth. |
This comic imagines an alternate reality where sunspots are literally black patches on the surface of the sun, void of all luminance, so the amount of light that the Earth receives swings drastically over an 11-year cycle. As the text above the chart suggests, the inhabitants of Earth in this reality are so accustomed to the extreme decade-long cycle of darkness and light that they don't even consider ''why'' it's pitch black for 10 years straight, and so Randall helpfully created this chart to explain. | This comic imagines an alternate reality where sunspots are literally black patches on the surface of the sun, void of all luminance, so the amount of light that the Earth receives swings drastically over an 11-year cycle. As the text above the chart suggests, the inhabitants of Earth in this reality are so accustomed to the extreme decade-long cycle of darkness and light that they don't even consider ''why'' it's pitch black for 10 years straight, and so Randall helpfully created this chart to explain. |