Question

the latest sunspot maximum occurred in 2001. Using the data from your sunspot-activity data table, predict the next sunspot minimum

Answer 1

A peak in the sunspot count is referred to as a time of "solar maximum" (or "solar max"), whereas a period when few sunspots appear is called a "solar minimum" (or "solar min"). An example of a recent sunspot cycle spans the years from the solar min in 1986, when 13 sunspots were seen, through the solar max in 1989 when more than 157 sunspots appeared, on to the next solar min in 1996 (ten years after the 1986 solar min) when the sunspot count had fallen back down to fewer than 9.