At https://phys.org/print470041521.html … geomagnetic activity in Earth's atmosphere with an origin in the same on the Sun. A plasma stream, the solar wind, is causing some beautiful auroral displays in February. See the image below of aurora seen over Iceland in mid February. It is described in this piece as an electrification of the night sky ….
… (by Ollie Taylor, photographer).
Over at http://spaceweather.com (22nd February 2019) we have further geomagnetic unrest as another stream of solar wind buffets the Earth's atmosphere, pumping energy into the system. Auroral storms over Alaska.
At the same time cosmic rays are increasing in the stratosphere for the 4th year in succession. This information came from high altitude balloon launches into the sky over California (and in various other locations around the world). The increase is down to solar minimum – and right now the 11 year year solar cycle has a minimum of sun spots. These are not to be confused with coronal holes which are what is causing current solar activity. Solar minimum is a weakening of the Sun's magnetic field, temporarily, which therefore does not fully protect the solar system from incoming cosmic rays from deep space. Just as the Earth's magnetic field weakens so too does the Sun's magnetic field weaken during minima.
… and at http://spaceweather.com (23rd February) we are told the coronal hole is back …
… and there it is in all its glory.
At https://wattsupwiththat.com/2019/02/22/changes-to-darwins-climate-histor… … is a guest post by Australian Jennifer Marohasy (with a link to her own blog down under). The Bureau of Meteorology is Australia's equivalent of the Met Office (BOM for short). It has once again adjusted historical temperature data. It is always downwards and never the other way round. The idea, it is suggested, is to project warming in recent years (by making the past cooler). Why are adjustments always in one direction, she queries. Warmists have a problem as climate is refusing to comply to the AGW meme so they are artificially upgrading it in order to agree with their artificial models. If temperatures remain on a plateau for much longer, not budging to any worth while degree, bumping along without spiralling upwards (and only moving upwards during El Nino events before falling back again) they cannot sustain the hype. It is imperative to maintain the fiction, or otherwise, that global warming is taking place – and its getting hotter and hotter. The models have to be vindicated by methodology. Making the historical data cooler does just that. The investors, hedge funds, and renewable profiteers are able to continue filling their wallets at the expense of the ordinary Joe (actively condoned and supported by governments). At the same time the politicos are on a gravy train too as AGW increases government receipts – which can be diverted to pet projects. It's not a lot different to being a serf in the medieval period. Instead of handing over a pig and a couple of chickens, a share of your corn and and a bag or two of peas from your garden (backyard), as well as working for the Lord of the Manor for several weeks each year, without pay, you instead have to pay an ever increasing tax threshold, and are expected to be too dim to understand what is really going on (and even if you do understand you can't do a lot about it). Meanwhile, some politicos see AGW as something like Jacob's Ladder – leading to Nirvana. It's only a matter of time before the bubble bursts – but people have been saying that for 20 years but the gravy train is rumbling on at every increasing speed with no sign of the buffers. Help!