Date: Sat, 1 Nov 2003
Sunspots and Clouds Confirmation?
Thomas M. Miovas, Jr.
Near the end of July, I reported on a relatively new theory by
Henrik Svensmark regarding a possible connection between sunspot
activity, cosmic rays, cloud formation, and temperatures. The
theory predicts that when there is greater sunspot activity there will
be less cloud cover and therefore higher temperatures near the
earth's surface, because fewer cosmic rays can make it through the
magnetic chaos raging near the earth during solar flare activity.
Last week, I began to notice that there weren't any clouds in the
North Texas sky, aside from a cold front that wasn't as severe as
predicted, and that we were hitting record high temperatures for this
time of year. A few days later, near record sunspot activity was
announced. The solar flares are still heading our way, there are still
no clouds, and we are still reaching record high temperatures.
There are other factors involved, of course, such as the jet stream,
but it's not every day that one can witness with one's own eyes the
possible verification of a major scientific breakthrough.
<HB: I know that Texans think [their] state covers most of the
world -- :-) -- but isn't this really a pretty small sample to judge
from?>
