[PPRAANet] Sunspot Factoids from KQ6XA

[Paul Signorelli]

A few fascinating sunspot factoids.


  *   The sunspot number today is : 0 (Zero).
  *   Good old Solar Cycle 24 (2008-2019) is in the process of ending
  *   Solar Cycle 24 was the lowest sunspot cycle since the invention of HF radio.
  *   In the 1850s, scientist Richard Carrington (of Carrington Event fame) determined the sun's rotation rate (25.38 days sidereal) by logging positions of sunspots as they rotated around the surface of the sun. Relative to earth, the "Carrington rotation" rate is 27.2753 days.
  *   Perhaps not a coincidence: The moon orbits the Earth once every 27.322 days.
  *   Also, not a coincidence: Some trends in ionospheric propagation tend to repeat every 27 days or so.

The Monthly Sunspot Numbers observed so far this year are very low:
2019 January = 7.8
2019 February = 0.8
2019 March = 9.5
2019 April = 9.1
2019 May = 10.1
2019 June = 1.2

"We've got a lot riding on our solar cycle."
 -Bonnie KQ6XA
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More details at:
http://www.sws.bom.gov.au/Solar/1/6
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You can still make Q's, even here at the bottom of the cycle.
I just got an eQSL from YF3DBH (Indonesia), I was on Indy Pass running 50W with a 10 foot whip on 20M.
Paul  w0rw