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(Narrator) There must be something in a sunspot that opens up a wealth of knowledge

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and even more questions.

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Like Galileo before him, German astronomer, Samuel Heinrich Schwabe became fascinated with sunspots.

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From careful observation over 17 years, Schwabe found a periodic cycling of the average number of sunspots.

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In the mid 1800s he and other astronomers found that the sun has about an 11 year cycle.

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Between the times when we can observe
the most and the least sunspot.

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(Holly Gilbert) Understanding the 11 years
solar cycle becomes very crucial

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and understanding the effects
of space weather here at Earth.

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Because it really dictates how often solar storms will occur and how strong they will be.

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