MAY 29, 2006 - Long Range Solar Forecast is NASA's way of warning us that something unusual is brewing in our local star, something that could point to a drop-off in solar activity. The so-called "Great Conveyor Belt" of hot plasma that 'controls' the sunspot cycle has slowed to a hitherto unseen crawl. Current theory, supported by observation, holds that the speed of this belt foretells the intensity of sunspot activity approximately 20 years in the future - which implies that Solar Cycle 25, peaking around 2022, may be one of the weakest in centuries. (Shades of the Maunder Minimum!) Paradoxically, the 2022 'weak peak' will follow what is predicted to be a very high level of solar activity in the 2010-2012 time frame: these solar extremes are going to extremes in the coming years, if the rocket scientists are spot-on. Astrologically speaking, this sort of solar turbulence portends an E-ticket ride on the third rock from the Sun.
