If the last few years have seen a so-called quiet Sun, its silence has spoken volumes. Researchers have taken advantage of a raft of new sensors and a special observing campaign to learn much about what happens when the sun temporarily powers down.

The solar minimum that bottomed out from 2006 to 2010 was the longest and deepest since modern space observations began. Among other effects, it reorganized the areas of flux from open magnetic field lines that produce solar wind.

The public is keenly interested in the Sun and its doings. “Sunspots” is one of the most frequent search terms bringing visitors to the NCAR/UCAR website.

In a breakthrough that will help scientists unlock mysteries of the Sun and its impacts on Earth, an international team of scientists from NCAR and the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research has created the first-ever comprehensive computer model of sunspots.

An experimental modeling study by a team of scientists that includes NCAR’s Hanli Liu (High Altitude Observatory) points to the propagation of waves upward from the lower atmosphere as a driver for variability in the ionosphere. The research is an important step toward better understanding space weather.