1 • Wednesday, March 13, 2019 - Shopper’s Guide
presents
Serving the communities in Stephenson County
Shopper’s Guide
VOL. 81 • NO. 11
Pajama Bowl
at the n Night Out Mother & So ited Limber of num ets ticklable avai
“Gutter Ball”
eats & Fun! Bowling, Tr
k thru 5th grade boys & their moms!
Friday, March 15, 2019
Session 1
Doors open at 5:00 p.m. • Bowling at 5:30
Session 2
Doors open at 7:00 p.m. • Bowling at 7:30
At Stockton Bowling Lanes 102 S. Ward St. Stockton, IL 61085 Call to register
YOUR FREE HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER
815-947-3616
750
$
Per Person
Wear your pajamas 338856
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 2019
Searching for an answer; where is spring?
CORRESPONDENT
Why won’t winter end? We’re told by politicians that global warming will make Earth uninhabitable in 12 years. Instead, here we are mired down in cold and recurring snow storms. If we look at history and the present state of our Sun, we find a likely explanation for our present unusual weather. Examination of Figure 2A in U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 00950 (1) which plots the ratio of radiocarbon, 14C, to stable, 12C, in tree rings, reveals peaks in the lower left of the graph identified as a 200-year cycle, sometimes called the de Vries Solar Cycle. Actually, the period is closer to 208 years. The de Vries Solar Cycle peaks depict bursts of radiocarbon produced from atmospheric nitrogen atoms interacting with slow neutrons. The neutrons are secondary particles generated when cosmic rays bombard the atmosphere, and the peaks of the de Vries Solar Cycle correspond to cyclic periods of increased cosmic ray flux. While it’s easy to pick out the peaks in the figure going back a few thousand years, some people looking at different data, claim to follow the cycle through millions of years (2). Apparently, in addition to the wellknown 11-year cycle, the Sun’s magnetic field also has a longer period cycle of approximately 208 years. The capability of measuring magnetic field strength on the Sun’s surface has been developed in modern times (3), so it’s possible only to infer similar behavior of the Sun during previous occurrences of the de Vries Solar Cycle. However, we have been watching sunspots for 500 years and find high levels of radiocarbon from periods when sunspot numbers were low or completely missing. A common feature of the last few instances of the de Vries Solar Cycle have had global cooling, which is consistent with what we’re experiencing. Cosmic rays are high energy particles of varying composition stream-
ing into the Solar System from all directions. They may have high energies, orders of magnitude greater even than those achievable with modern particle accelerators like the Large Hadron Collider on the Franco-Swiss border at Geneva (4). The Sun has a powerful magnetic field, and generates a solar wind composed primarily of protons, helium nuclei, and electrons (5). Earth’s magnetic field is insufficient to protect from energetic cosmic rays, but sufficient to protect from the solar wind. The Sun’s magnetic field and solar wind sweep past Earth, colliding with, confounding, and turning incoming cosmic rays, thus providing some measure of protection from the ravages of these high energy particles. The shielding is not complete, so cosmic ray showers are always present at a low level, however with a quiet Sun and resultant reduced shielding, the intensity of cosmic ray showers increases. Cosmic rays, impinging on the atmosphere, collide with nuclei of the upper atmosphere, producing large showers of secondary energetic charged particles streaking through the atmosphere. These charged particles interact with and excite numerous air molecules along the way forming charged molecules that can serve as nucleation sites for water or aerosol cloud formation. If sufficient moisture is available, the nucleation sites promote raindrop formation resulting in precipitation. (6,7) Changes in cloud formation also can change atmospheric circulation patters which have a different effect on weather changes from one region to another. Historically, periods of higher cosmic ray bombardment were cooler and wetter than periods when an active Sun reduced cosmic ray fluxes. Since the 1970s we’ve had a warm period when an active Sun featured prolific sunspot activity and an effective solar wind. (8) That period has ended. The Sun’s surface magnetic field
PR SRT STD US POSTAGE PAID ROCK VALLEY PUBLISHINGLLC
By F. Duane Ingram
strength has been steadily decreasing for nearly 30 years, and now is so weak that it supports very few sunspots (3). The current, quiet Sun with its weaker magnetic field, has few to no sunspots, reduced luminance, and reduced solar wind. The sunspot record suggests this was also the case for the last few cycles of the 200-
year sequence. Because of the quiet Sun, cosmic ray intensities have been increasing for the last couple years. Consistent with expectations of a de Vries Solar Cycle, last year saw an unusual amount of precipitation, the highest since records were kept. Now this winter, we have been surprised with brutally cold temperatures and
National Honor Society
increased snowfall. To think we can watch only the Sun and predict our future would be a mistake since a complex set of issues conspire to produce terrestrial climates. However, it may be possible to make some predictions of the
See SPRING, Page 2
COURTESY PHOTO Shopper’s Guide
Pearl City National Honor Society welcomes new members Estrella Ayala, Jenee Shultz, Jenna Robinson, Hailey Johnson, Makayla Milam, Caitlin Niesman, and Madyson Stephan.
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