Sunspot number 1035 is growing rapidly – according to Spaceweather it is now seven times wider than the Earth.  We have been in a Solar Minimum since 2006, and during this period the Sun has been much more quiet than in most Solar Minimums (or is that Minima?) – in fact, the deepest Solar Minimum in the 100 years that scientists have been recording solar activity.  

At any rate, it does appear that solar activity has been increasing since September of this year.  One article reports that “[a]n unmistakable and persistent upward trend has emerged since September 2009 in the solar flux which has long been used as a barometer of the Sun’s output.”

If Google News is any indication, the new sunspot appears to be of interest primarily to amateur radio aficionados.  But for the rest of us there are interesting correlations to questions of slowing solar activity and its correlation to climate change.

Stay tuned for more reports!