Daily Mail Sun
© AFP/Getty ImagesBaffled: Scientists last year assumed the sun was entering an active phase but instead it has hit a 100-year low in sunspot activity
The sun is the dimmest it has been for almost a century, scientists say.

Leading astronomers admit they are baffled why the Earth's closest star has gone so quiet - and when it will burst back into life.

The sun normally goes through an 11-year cycle of activity. At its peak - a period known as the solar maximum - the sun is covered with dozens of sun spots as it spits out vast flares and balls of superheated gas the size of planets.

At the other end of the cycle, during the solar minimum, it is calm with relatively few sun spots and few eruptions. Last year, scientists assumed the sun was about to become more active after a quiet few years.

But instead it has hit a 100-year low in sunspot activity, a 50-year low in solar wind pressure and a 55-year low in radio emissions. The observations have intrigued astronomers who are studying new images at the UK National Astronomy Meeting this week.

Natural cycles of the sun directly affect our climate. Between 1645 and 1710, the sun went through an unusually quiet spell which some believe triggered a mini Ice Age.

Some climate change sceptics have claimed the warming of the Earth in the last 100 years is the result of solar activity. However, studies have shown the sun's activity has been decreasing since 1985 while the Earth's temperature has risen sharply.

Comment: No it has not. The planet has actually cooled in the last ten years.

From this article:
Notice the steady decline since 2002. IPCC predicted unprecedented warming and projected 0.21C in each of the next two decades. The planet is actually cooling at a trend rate of -0.195/decade since 2002.
From this article:
"Official data shows the world passed its peak temperatures 10 years ago"
There are many other articles and research from GISS, Hadley, and others that show the planet warming leveled off somewhere between 1998 and 2002 and since 2005 cooling has been pretty dramatic.

Most climate scientists believe the rise in temperatures since the 1970s is likely to be caused by the release of greenhouse gases which trap heat around the Earth.

Dr Jim Wild, of Lancaster University, said: 'Over the last couple of years the sun has been getting dimmer. In terms of visible brightness it is an incredibly small drop. But in terms of extreme ultraviolet radiation, it has dropped by a few per cent.

'The accepted view is solar brightness has some effect on climate, but it looks like the sun has been dimming.

'Despite that we are still seeing temperatures increase in general. This is not going to save us from climate change.'

Comment: Except we are not seeing temperatures rise in general. We are seeing temperatures cool in general and have been for a few years.

What is going to save us from the propaganda?

The sunspot cycle is driven by the movement of complex magnetic fields.