<p></p><p>Also, known as the “prolonged sunspot minimum,” it’s a period when the Sun’s magnetic pull will diminish, sunspots will be much less frequent, and less ultraviolet radiation will make it to planet Earth — all due to random fluctuations in the Sun’s magnetic field. All of that can mean unusually cool temperatures for us, and it’ll also make the Sun appear dimmer.</p> <p></p><p>The Sun is on an 11-year up/down cycle as it is, but this grand minimum will be especially cold, as the Sun’s activity will go lower than the regular 11-year low. That translates to colder temperatures for parts of the world. </p> <p></p><p><img type=”lazy-image” data-runner-src=”https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODI0MTM5MS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NjMzMzk0Mn0.RJ4uIwmd7CNKOp2wX2oRO4852Mj85nsoEfa07zlqjVQ/img.jpg?width=980″ id=”5e9d1″ class=”rm-shortcode” data-rm-shortcode-id=”13b3641540f0502a5bc930c20edec10e” data-rm-shortcode-name=”rebelmouse-image”></p> <p></p><p><em>Photo by NOAA/National Weather Service’s Space Weather Prediction Center via Getty Images</em></p> <p></p><p> </p> <p></p><p>How cold? Predictions, based on a study of previous sunspot reductions preceding a grand minimum period, are that we’ll see a 7% reduction in the Sun’s light and heat — and remember, that’s 7% lower than the lowest of the 11 year cycle that we usually see. </p> <p></p><p>Such a grand minimum happened in the middle of the 17th century. Known as the “Maunder Minimum” (from the names of 2 well respected solar astronomers of the time, Anne Russel Maunder and Edward Walter Maunder), the resultant cold temperatures saw the river Thames freeze, and the Baltic Sea as well — which allowed a Swedish army to invade Denmark by marching across the ice.</p> <p></p><p>At the same time, <a href=”http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5373497/Scientists-warn-sun-unusually-cool-2050.html” target=”_blank”>Alaska and Southern Greenland warmed</a>, due to the thinning of the Earth’s stratospheric ozone layer, which changes wind and weather patterns around the world.</p> <p></p><p>The exact date and severity of the event is still in question, but the clues all point to things bottoming out around the year 2050. It could <a href=”http://www.ibtimes.co.in/scientists-warn-unusually-cold-sun-will-we-face-another-ice-age-759865″ target=”_blank”>start as soon as 2030</a>, however. Just for reference, the Maunder Minimum lasted from 1645 until about 1715. </p> <p></p><p>Will it save us from global warming? The very same scientists <a href=”https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/02/sun-cooler-2050-study/” target=”_blank”>don’t think so</a>. </p> <p></p><p>“The cooling effect of a grand minimum is only a fraction of the warming effect caused by the increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere,” according to the study. </p> <p></p><p>I have my own prediction: If I’m still alive by then, I’ll be heading to Jamaica.</p> <p></p><p> </p> <p></p><p><iframe frameborder=”0″ height=”573″ scrolling=”no” src=”http://www.dailymail.co.uk/embed/video/1198057.html” width=”698″></iframe></p>
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