Maunder Minimum
Sign in to saveThe period starting about 1645 and continuing to about 1715 when sunspots were exceedingly rare
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- solar minimum
- Named after
- Annie Scott Dill Maunder
- Followed by
- Dalton Minimum
- Follows
- Spörer Minimum
Show 3 more facts
- end time
- 1715-00-00
- start time
- 1645-00-00
- on focus list of Wikimedia project
- WikiProject Climate change
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
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Encyclopedic overview
The Maunder Minimum shown in a 400-year history of sunspot numbers
The Maunder Minimum, also known as the "prolonged sunspot minimum", was a period around 1645 to 1715 during which sunspots became exceedingly rare. During the 28-year period 1672–1699 within the minimum, observations revealed fewer than 50 sunspots. This contrasts with the typical 40,000–50,000 sunspots seen in modern times over a similar timespan.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Maunder Minimum” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.