Sun stirs from an unusually deep sleep

THE sun has finally awoken from a deep slumber.

After an unusually long period of inactivity the fiery star has emerged from its solar minimum, a period characterised by a low number of solar storms and sun spots. Scientists believe changes in the plasma deep below the sun's surface were the cause of its recent period of hibernation, which lasted almost 1½ years longer than expected.

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/weather/sun-stirs-from-an-unusually-deep-sleep-20110306-1bjlq.html

Researchers Crack the Mystery of the Missing Sunspots

March 2, 2011: In 2008-2009, sunspots almost completely disappeared for two years. Solar activity dropped to hundred-year lows; Earth's upper atmosphere cooled and collapsed; the sun’s magnetic field weakened, allowing cosmic rays to penetrate the Solar System in record numbers. It was a big event, and solar physicists openly wondered, where have all the sunspots gone?

More at :
http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/02mar_spotlesssun/

Radio buffs tune in to solar cycle

By Lee Badman
March 14, 2010, 5:20AM

http://tinyurl.com/yl2p3ul