The sun went out in 1645. Not literally, of course; it was still shining. However, that year marked the beginning of the Maunder Minimum period, when sunspot activity was extremely low. This coincided with the so-called Little Ice Age, which saw extreme cold across the North Atlantic, leading to harsher winters and shorter summers across much of Europe. While the coincidence of the two events may have been a simple coincidence, astronomers and geologists have concluded that the connection between the Sun and the Sun is certain. And by land replays It plays an important role in our planet’s climate.

During a typical 22-year period consisting of several continuous events sunspot cyclesWe’ll probably count between 30,000 and 40,000 sunspots. However, part of the Maunder minimum at the very end of the 17th century was devoid of sunspots. Scientists are still unsure what caused the Maunder Minimum, which eventually subsided in 1715. However, they do know that this coincides with the Little Ice Age. The overlap may simply be coincidental; After all, the Little Ice Age began long before the Maunder Minimum and continued long after, and the rest of the planet appeared unaffected.

However, the number of sunspots is related to the overall brightness of the sun. Therefore, during the Maunder minimum, the sun’s intensity was slightly less, and the Earth’s northern latitudes were more sensitive to even small changes in solar radiation. The land area here is much larger than in the corresponding southern latitudes, and the land changes temperature much faster than water. Because seasons are stronger at higher latitudes, small changes in the sun can cause significant ripple effects that may not be felt in other parts of the world.

There is still no consensus on the connection between the Maunder Minimum and the Little Ice Age. But when we look at the geological time scale we find a very strong and very unexpected connection.

The first person to draw attention to the influence of the Earth-Sun system on our planet’s climate was Serbian physicist and astronomer Milutin Milankovic, who in the 1920s discovered various natural cycles in Earth’s orbit that could be the cause of major climate changes.

The first natural cycle is when the Earth’s orbit gradually changes from elliptical to circular and back again approximately every 100,000 years. These changes are caused by slight gravitational tremors Jupiter And Saturn. Currently, Earth’s eccentricity (a measure of the ellipticity of the orbit) is 0.0167 and decreasing. These changes in our planet’s orbit affect the length and magnitude of seasons because the Earth moves slower when it is farther from the Sun than when it is closer to the Sun. So if the Earth has maximum eccentricity and if the farthest point of the Earth coincides with summer in the Northern Hemisphere, summer this year will last longer than usual.

Another cycle changes the tilt of our planet’s axis by 22.1-24.5 degrees approximately every 41,000 years. The current tilt of the Earth is 23.44 degrees and is decreasing. This cycle also affects the magnitude of the seasons: a larger slope means more time in direct sunlight or more hiding from the sun, making the season more severe.

The third cycle is known as axial precession. Our planet rotates like a top every 25,700 years, and the Earth’s axis of rotation draws a lazy circle in the sky. This changes the hemisphere that receives more sun. Now the Earth’s closest approach to the sun coincides with the summer months in the southern hemisphere, and these seasons are especially hot.

These cycles weave in and out of each other; Sometimes they reinforce each other, sometimes they cancel each other out. Sometimes more than one loop is added to create a big effect; other times they don’t. However, despite everything, the Earth’s position relative to the Sun has a great impact on our planet’s climate.

Comparison of Milankovitch cycles with temperature records from ice core samples shows a very close relationship. Periods of glaciation, popularly called “glacial periods”, coincide with periods of Milankovitch cycles. When The Earth, especially northern latitudes, receives less sunlight than normal, and warm periods coincide with more sunlight in the north.

The last time the glaciers retreated was about 12,000 years ago, coinciding with a small increase in total sunlight due to Milankovitch cycles. Everything that caused this change, from the extinction of many species such as woolly mammoths to the spread of humanity into the Americas, resulted directly from a small change in our planet’s orbital configuration. Source