Global Warming

Stable Sun Not Responsible for Global Warming

New analysis of solar observations dating back to 1610 indicate that the sun is no more active now than in most other times, debunking claims that it is responsible for global warming.

While sunspots virtually disappeared during a period from 1645 to 1715 known as the Maunder minimum, there have also been times in the past 400 years when the sun has been as fired up as in recent decades, scientists point out.

"A proper estimate of the past and present activity of the sun, our main source of light and heat, is crucial in understanding numerous phenomena that occur on Earth, especially to rule out the role of the sun in global warming,” said José M. Vaquero, a researcher at Spain’s University of Extremadura.

"It has been a huge surprise to observe that in the 18th century, the levels of the sun's activity were practically the same as they are now,” said Vaquero.

Writing in the journal Space Science Reviews, Vaquero and colleagues from the United States and Europe outline how discrepancies in the earliest solar records from North America and Europe were resolved to allow the comparison.