A period of exceptionally low solar activity from approximately 1645 to 1715, characterized by very few sunspots and reduced solar magnetic activity. This period coincided with the coldest part of the Little Ice Age in Europe and North America.
Named after English astronomer Edward Walter Maunder, who studied this period in the late 19th century, combined with 'minimum' from Latin 'minimus' meaning smallest. Maunder analyzed historical sunspot records and identified this prolonged period of solar quiescence.
The Maunder Minimum was like our Sun taking a 70-year nap, during which the Thames River in London regularly froze solid and Europe experienced some of its coldest winters in recorded history! This dramatic demonstration of how solar activity affects Earth's climate has astronomers wondering if other stars experience similar magnetic hibernations, and whether we might be able to predict future solar minimum periods.
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