Global suface temperature has showed a rise trend in the last 150 years. This has been mainly attributed to the anthropogenic induced grenhouse gases emissions. However, the role of natural processes is not completely understood and should not be underestimated. In this work, we compare the long term variability of solar activity (as quantified by the sunspot number) with several surface temperature series from different geographical regions (global, hemispheric and latitudinal ranges). The interval of analysis is 1880-2005. The data are analyzed with wavelet multiresolution technique. It has been found that the solar activity long term trend has a maximum around 1970, while air surface temperature series showed maximum (still rising) at 2005. There are differences in the long term trend for Northern and Southern hemispheres. These differences and the relation with solar activity are discussed in this work.

Cliver & Ling (2010) recently suggested that the solar wind had a floor or ground-state magnetic field strength at Earth of ~2.8 nT and that the source of the field was the slow solar wind. This picture has recently been given impetus by the evidence presented by Schrijver et al. (2011) that the Sun has a minimal magnetic state that was approached globally in 2009, a year in which Earth was imbedded in slow solar wind ~70% of the time. A precursor relation between the solar dipole field strength at solar minimum and the peak sunspot number (SSNMAX) of the subsequent 11-yr cycle suggests that during Maunder-type minima (when SSNMAX was ~0), the solar polar field strength approaches zero - indicating weak or absent polar coronal holes and an increase to nearly ~100% in the time that Earth spends in slow solar wind.

Solar variability and its effects on the physical variability of our (space) environment produces complex signals. In the indicators of solar activity at least four independent cyclic components can be identified, all of them with temporal variations in their timescales.

Time-frequency distributions (see Kolláth & Oláh 2009) are perfect tools to disclose the “music scores” in these complex time series. Special features in the time-frequency distributions, like frequency splitting, or modulations on different timescales provide clues, which can reveal similar trends among different indices like sunspot numbers, interplanetary magnetic field strength in the Earth's neighborhood and climate data.

On the pseudo-Wigner Distribution (PWD) the frequency splitting of all the three main components (the Gleissberg and Schwabe cycles, and an ≈5.5 year signal originating from cycle asymmetry, i.e. the Waldmeier effect) can be identified as a “bubble” shaped structure after 1950. The same frequency splitting feature can also be found in the heliospheric magnetic field data and the microwave radio flux.

Magnetic helicity fluxes in turbulently driven α2 dynamos are studied to demonstrate their ability to alleviate catastrophic quenching. A one-dimensional mean-field formalism is used to achieve magnetic Reynolds numbers of the order of 105. We study both diffusive magnetic helicity fluxes through the mid-plane as well as those resulting from the recently proposed alternate dynamic quenching formalism. By adding shear we make a parameter scan for the critical values of the shear and forcing parameters for which dynamo action occurs. For this αΩ dynamo we find that the preferred mode is antisymmetric about the mid-plane. This is also verified in 3-D direct numerical simulations.

We present examples of activity cycle timescales on different types of stars from lowmass dwarfs to more massive giants, with wide-ranging rotation rates, and compare the observed cyclicities to the irradiance based solar cycle and its modulations. Using annual spectral solar irradiance in wavelength bands typical for stellar observations reconstructed by Shapiro et al. (2011), a direct comparison can be made between cycle timescales and amplitudes derived for the Sun and the stars. We show that cycles on multiple timescales, known to be present in solar activity, also show up on stars when the dataset is long enough to allow recognition. The cycle lengths are not fixed, but evolve – gradually during some periods but there are also changes on short timescales. In case the activity is dominated by spots, i.e., by cooler surface features, the star is redder when fainter, whereas other type of activity make the stars bluer when the activity is higher. We found the Sun to be a member of the former group, based on reconstructed spectral irradiance data by Shapiro et al. (2011).

The slow decline of solar Cycle 23 combined with the slow rise of Cycle 24 resulted in a very long period of low magnetic activity during the years 2007–2009 with sunspot number reaching the lowest level since 1913. This long solar minimum was characterized by weak polar magnetic fields, smaller polar coronal holes, and a relatively complex coronal morphology with multiple streamers extending to mid latitudes. At the same time, low latitude coronal holes remained present on the Sun until the end of 2008 modulating the solar wind at the Earth in co-rotating, fast solar wind streams. This magnetic configuration was remarkably different from the one observed during the previous two solar minima when coronal streamers were confined near the equator and the fast solar wind was mainly originating from the large coronal holes around the Sun's poles. This paper presents the evolution of the polar magnetic fields and coronal holes during the past minimum, compare it with the previous minima, and discuss the implications for the solar wind near the Earth. It also considers the minimum of Cycle 23 in an historical perspective and, in particular, compares it to the long minima at the turn of the 19th century.

In this contribution we present 4 complete planetary transits observed with the 40-cm telescope “Horacio Ghielmetti” located in San Juan(Argentina). These objects correspond to a continuous photometric monitoring program of Southern planet host-stars that we are carrying out since mid-2011. The goal of this project is to detect additional planetary mass objects around stars with known transiting-planets through Transit Timing Variations (TTVs). For all 4 transits the depth and duration are in good agreement with the values published in the discovery papers.

The San Luis Gonzaga National University of Ica has built a solar station, in collaboration with the Geophysical Institute of Peru, the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan and the Hida Observatory. The Solar Station has the following equipment: a digital Spectrograph Solar Refractor Telescope Takahashi 15 cm aperture, 60 cm reflector telescope aperture, a magnetometer-MAGDAS/CPNM and a Burst Monitor Telescope Solar-FMT (Project CHAIN). These teams support the development of astronomical science and Ica in Peru, likewise contributing to science worldwide. The development of basic science will be guaranteed when university students, professors and researchers work together. The Solar Station will be useful for studying the different levels of university education and also for the general public. The Solar Station will be a good way to spread science in the region through public disclosure.

The Large Aperture GRBs Observatory is a continental-wide observatory devised to detect high energy (around 100 GeV) component of Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs), by using the single particle technique in arrays of Water Cherenkov Detectors (WCDs) at high mountain sites of Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Venezuela and Peru. Details of the instalation and operation of the detectors in Marcapomacocha in Peru at 4550 m.a.s.l. are given. The detector calibration method will also be shown.

Interplanetary conditions during the Cycle 23-24 minimum have attracted attention because they are noticeably different than those during other minima of the space age, exhibiting more solar wind stream interaction structures in addition to reduced mass fluxes and low magnetic field strengths. In this study we consider the differences in the solar wind source regions by applying Potential Field Source Surface models of the coronal magnetic field. In particular, we consider the large scale coronal field geometry that organizes the open field region locations and sizes, and the appearance of the helmet streamer structure that is another determiner of solar wind properties. The recent cycle minimum had an extraordinarily long entry phase (the decline of Cycle 23) that made it difficult to identify when the actual miminum arrived. In particular, the late 23rd cycle was characterized by diminishing photospheric fields and complex coronal structures that took several extra years to simplify to its traditional dipolar solar minimum state. The nearly dipolar phase, when it arrived, had a duration somewhat shorter than those of the previous cycles. The fact that the corona maintained an appearance more like a solar maximum corona through most of the quiet transitional phase between Cycles 23 and 24 gave the impression of a much more complicated solar minimum solar wind structure in spite of the weaknesses of the mass flux and interplanetary field. The extent to which the Cycle 23-24 transition will affect Cycle 24, and/or represents what happens during weak cycles in general, remains to be seen.

The paper presents a statistical analysis of the fast solar wind streams during the last prolonged minimum. Defining a minimum phase as the period with the monthly relative sunspot numbers (smoothed values) having a value of less than 20, we considered for this analysis the interval February 2006 September 2010. The High-Speed Streams (HSSs) in the solar wind were determined by their main parameters: duration, maximum velocity, velocity gradient. A comparative analysis of the HSS dynamics during the last solar minimum with the previous solar minimum (1996-1997) concludes the paper.

The planetary hypothesis of solar cycle is an old idea by which the planetary gravity acting on the Sun might have a non-negligible effect on the solar magnetic cycle. The advance of this hypothesis is based on phenomenological correlations between dynamical parameters of the Sun's movement around the barycenter of the Solar System and sunspots time series. In addition, several authors have proposed, using different methodologies that the first Grand Minima (GM) event of the new millennium is coming or has already begun. We present new fully three dimensional N-body simulations of the solar inertial motion (SIM) around the barycentre of the solar system in order to perform a phenomenological comparison between relevant SIM dynamical parameters and the occurrences of the last GM events (i.e., Maunder and Dalton). Our fundamental result is that the Sun acceleration decomposed in a co-orbital reference system shows a very particular behaviour that is common to Maunder minimum, Dalton minimum and the maximum of cycle 22 (around 1990), before the present prolonged minimum. We discuss our results in terms of a dynamical characterization of GM with relation to Sun dynamics and possible implications for a new GM event.

We describe the database and the method used to analyze the sunspot data recorded at the Solar Observatory of the University of Ica in Peru. The parameters that are measured include the relative sunspot number (R), the sunspot area, their positions on the disk, and an estimate of the constant (k) included in R. Sunspots in the database are classified following the Zurich Classification System. From these observations, the active region area, the sunspot rotation speed, and other active regions properties can be estimated.

As an introduction to the theme of this symposium, I give a simple review of the photospheric magnetic field, the properties of the solar cycle, the way in which the magnetic field is thought to be generated by dynamo action, and finally the unusual properties of the recent solar minimum. This has awakened an interest in improving predictions of the solar cycle and in the nature of solar minima not just as gaps between maxima but as phenomena of intrinsic interest in their own right.

There is increasingly strong observational evidence that slow magnetoacoustic modes arise in the solar atmosphere. Solar magneto-seismology is a novel tool to derive otherwise directly un-measurable properties of the solar atmosphere when magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) wave theory is compared to wave observations. Here, MHD wave theory is further developed illustrating how information about the magnetic and density structure along coronal loops can be determined by measuring the frequencies of the slow MHD oscillations. The application to observations of slow magnetoacoustic waves in coronal loops is discussed.

We revisit previous studies in which the characteristics of the solar and interplanetary sources of intense geomagnetic storms have been discussed. We consider the very intense geomagnetic storms that occurred during Solar Cycle 23 by setting a value of Dstmin ≤ −200 nT as threshold. We have identified and characterized the solar and interplanetary sources of each storm. After this, we investigate the overall characteristics of the interplanetary (IP) main-phase storm driver, including the time arrival of the shock/disturbance at 1 AU, the type of associated IP structure/ejecta, the origin of a prolonged and enhanced southward component (Bz) of the IP field, and other characteristics related to the energy injected into the magnetosphere during the storm.

In this review we discuss the occurrence and statistical properties of Grand minima based on the available data covering the last millennia. In particular, we consider the historical record of sunspot numbers covering the last 400 years as well as records of cosmogenic isotopes in natural terrestrial archives, used to reconstruct solar activity for up to the last 11.5 millennia, i.e. throughout the Holocene. Using a reconstruction of solar activity from cosmogenic isotope data, we analyze statistics of the occurrence of Grand minima. We find that: the Sun spends about most of the time at moderate activity, 1/6 in a Grand minimum and some time also in a Grand maximum state; Occurrence of Grand minima is not a result of long-term cyclic variations but is defined by stochastic/chaotic processes; There is a tendency for Grand minima to cluster with the recurrence rate of roughly 2000-3000 years, with a weak ≈210-yr periodicity existing within the clusters. Grand minima occur of two different types: shorter than 100 years (Maunder-type) and long ≈150 years (Spörer-type). It is also discussed that solar cycles (most possibly not sunspots cycle) could exist during the Grand minima, perhaps with stretched length and asymmetric sunspot latitudinal distribution.

These results set new observational constraints on long-term solar and stellar dynamo models.

Since a universally accepted dynamo model of grand minima does not exist at the present time, we concentrate on the physical processes which may be behind the grand minima. After summarizing the relevant observational data, we make the point that, while the usual sources of irregularities of solar cycles may be sufficient to cause a grand minimum, the solar dynamo has to operate somewhat differently from the normal to bring the Sun out of the grand minimum. We then consider three possible sources of irregularities in the solar dynamo: (i) nonlinear effects; (ii) fluctuations in the poloidal field generation process; (iii) fluctuations in the meridional circulation. We conclude that (i) is unlikely to be the cause behind grand minima, but a combination of (ii) and (iii) may cause them. If fluctuations make the poloidal field fall much below the average or make the meridional circulation significantly weaker, then the Sun may be pushed into a grand minimum.

The evolution of the turbulent properties in the solar wind, during the travel of the parcels of fluid from the Sun to the outer heliosphere still has several unanswered questions. In this work, we will present results of an study on the dynamical evolution of turbulent magnetic fluctuations in the inner heliosphere. We focused on the anisotropy of the turbulence integral scale, measured parallel and perpendicular to the direction of the local mean magnetic field, and study its evolution according to the aging of the plasma parcels observed at different heliodistances. As diagnostic tool we employed single-spacecraft correlation functions computed with observations collected by Helios 1 & 2 probes over nearly one solar cycle. Our results are consistent with driving modes with wave-vectors parallel to the direction of the local mean magnetic field near the Sun, and a progressive spectral transfer of energy to modes with perpendicular wave-vectors. Advances made in this direction, as those presented here, will contribute to our understanding of the magnetohydrodynamical turbulence and Alfvénic-wave activity for this system, and will provide a quantitative input for models of charged solar and galactic energetic particles propagation and diffusion throughout the inner heliosphere.