Abstract
CHANGES in the brightness of the Sun may introduce further uncertainties into forecasts of global warming by the greenhouse effect. The Sun is known to vary in brightness, on a timescale of years, by 0.1% in phase with changes in magnetic activity during the solar cycle1–3, and variations of up to 0.4%, also correlated with surface magnetic activity, have been found in stars similar to the Sun4. To delimit the magnitude of solar luminosity variations on a timescale of centuries, we have looked at the magnetic behaviour of a number of solar-type stars over several years. Observed in random phases of their long-term variability, they give a sample of the behaviour of a solar-type star over a long period of time. We find indirect evidence that these stars undergo brightness changes of more than the 0.1% observed during the last solar cycle, a result that calls into question the assumption of a constant Sun in calculations using general circulation models for climate forecasting.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Willson, R. C., Hudson, H. S., Frohlich, C. & Brusa, R. W. Science 234, 1114–1117 (1986).
Willson, R. C. & Hudson, H. S. Nature 332, 810–812 (1988).
Hickey, J. R., Alton, B. M., Kyle, H. L. & Hoyt, D. Space Sci. Rev. 48, 321–342 (1988).
Radick, R. R., Lockwood, G. W. & Baliunas, S. L. Science 247, 39–44 (1990).
Eberhard, G. & Schwarzschild, K. Astrcphys. J. 38, 292–295 (1912).
Babcock, H. W. & Babcock, H. D. Astrophys. J. 121, 349–366 (1955).
Skumanich, A., Smythe, C. & Frazier, E. N. Astrophys. J. 200, 747–763 (1975).
Wilson, O. C. Astrophys. J. 226, 379–386 (1978).
Baliunas, S. L. & Vaughan, A. H. A. Rev. Astr. Astrophys. 23, 379–412 (1985).
VandenBerg, D. A. & Bridges, T. J. Astrophys. J. 278, 679–688 (1984).
Vaughan, A. H., Preston, G. W. & Wilson, O. C. Publs astr. Soc. Pacif. 90, 267–274 (1978).
Soderblom, D. R., Duncan, D. K. & Johnson, D. R. H. H. Astrophys. J. (in the press).
Vaughan, A. H. & Preston, G. W. Publs astr. Soc. Pacif. 92, 385–391 (1980).
Schrijver, C. J., Cote, J., Zwaan, C. & Saar, S. H. Astrophys. J. 337, 964–976 (1989).
Schrijver, C. J., Dobsen, A. K. & Radick, R. R. Astrophys. J. 341, 1035–1044 (1989).
Eddy, J. A. in Secular Solar and Geomagnetic Variations in the Last 10,000 Years (eds Stephenson, F. R. & Wolfendale, A. W.) 1–24 (Kluwer, Dordrecht, 1988).
Damon, P. E. in The Solar Output and Its Variation (ed. R. White) 429–448 (Colorado Ass. Univ. Press, Boulder, 1977).
Tomkin, J. & Bell, R. A. Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. 163, 117–127 (1973).
Pallavicini, R., Cerruti-Sola, M. & Duncan, D. K. Astr. Astrophys. 174, 116–126 (1987).
Soderblom, D. R. Astrophys. J. Suppl. 53, 1–15 (1983).
White, O. R., Rottman, G. J. & Livingston, W. C. Geophys. Res. Lett 17, 575–578 (1990).
Hartmann, L., Baliunas, S. L., Duncan, D. K. & Noyes, R. W. Astrophys. J. 279, 778–784 (1984).
Wigley, T. M. L. & Kelly, P. M. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A330, 547–560 (1990).
Hansen, J. et al. Science 213, 957–966 (1981).
Reid, G. C. & Gage, K. S. in Secular Solar and Geomagnetic Variations in the Last 10,000 years (eds Stephenson, F. R. & Wolfendale, A. W.) 225–243 (Kluwer, Dordrecht, 1988).
Gilliland, R. L. Clim. Change 4, 111–131 (1982).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Baliunas, S., Jastrow, R. Evidence for long-term brightness changes of solar-type stars. Nature 348, 520–523 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1038/348520a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/348520a0
This article is cited by
-
A Discussion of Implausible Total Solar-Irradiance Variations Since 1700
Solar Physics (2024)
-
The Solar-Stellar Connection
Space Science Reviews (2015)
-
Total Solar Irradiance Observations
Surveys in Geophysics (2012)
-
Solar Influence on Global and Regional Climates
Surveys in Geophysics (2012)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
