Redefining the limit dates for the Maunder Minimum

Abstract

The Maunder Minimum corresponds to a prolonged minimum of solar activity a phenomenon that is of particular interest to many branches of natural and social sciences commonly considered to extend from 1645 until 1715. However, our knowledge of past solar activity has improved significantly in recent years and, thus, more precise dates for the onset and termination of this particularly episode of our Sun can be established. Based on the simultaneous analysis of distinct proxies we propose a redefinition of the Maunder Minimum period with the core "Deep Maunder Minimum" spanning from 1645 to 1700 (that corresponds to the Grand Minimum state) and a wider "Extended Maunder Minimum" for the longer period 1618-1723 that includes the transition periods.

6 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in New Astronomy

References in corpus (4)

• Grand minima and maxima of solar activity: New observational constraints
• Evidence for distinct modes of solar activity
• Revisited sunspot data: A new scenario for the onset of the Maunder minimum
• Revised Group Sunspot Number for 1640, 1652, and 1741

Cited by in corpus (12)

• The Maunder minimum (1645--1715) was indeed a Grand minimum: A reassessment of multiple datasets
• A Revised Collection of Sunspot Group Numbers
• Solar cyclic activity over the last millennium reconstructed from annual 14C data
• Re-calibration of the Sunspot Number: Status Report
• Sunspot positions, areas, and group tilt angles for 1611-1631 from observations by Christoph Scheiner
• Sunspots during the Maunder Minimum from Machina Coelestis by Hevelius
• Strong evidence of low levels of solar activity during the Maunder Minimum
• Reconstructed sunspot positions in the Maunder Minimum based on the correspondence of Gottfried Kirch
• Sunspot numbers based on historic records in the 1610s - early telescopic observations by Simon Marius and others
• Candidate Auroral Observations during the Major Solar-Terrestrial Storm in May 1680: Implication for Space Weather Events during the Maunder Minimum
• Newly found sunspot observations by Peter Becker from Rostock for 1708, 1709, and 1710
• The solar rotation in the period 1853-1870 from the sunspot catalogues of Carrington, Peters, and de la Rue