Sun’s Activity Cycle Linked to Earth Climate
When the sun's weather is most active, it can impact Earth’s climate in a way that is similar to El Niño and La Niña events, a new study suggests.
The sun experiences a roughly 11-year cycle, during which the activities on its roiling surface intensify and then dissipate. (One noted sign of a highly active period is the number of sunspots dotting the solar surface).
The total energy reaching Earth from the sun varies by only 0.1 percent across the solar cycle.