Solar wind weakest since beginning of space age...The solar wind "inflates a protective bubble, or heliosphere, around the solar system," which protects the inner planets against the radiation from other stars,.... "With the solar wind at an all-time low, there is an excellent chance the heliosphere will diminish in size and strength," .... "If that occurs, more galactic cosmic rays will make it into the inner part of our solar system,"....
Scientists say the weakening of solar wind appears to be due to changes in the sun's magnetic field, but the causes of these changes are unknown.
The sun normally experiences 11-year-cycles between periods of great activity and lesser activity.
...recent results, ...show that "we are in a period of minimal activity that has stretched on longer than anyone anticipated."
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