(14. Juni 2010) „We‘re witnessing something unlike anything we‘ve seen in 100 years,“ said David Hathaway of NASA‘s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The sun‘s constant interaction with Earth makes it important for solar physicists to keep track of solar activity. (…)

„My suspicion is that this sunspot cycle 23 was a weaker cycle than the last two, with fewer sunspots and weaker magnetic fields. These may feed into what happens with the meridional flow that is going to lead to another weak cycle.“

Hathaway predicts that cycle 24 should reach its peak in mid-2013 at about half the size of the last three cycles.