NASA: Sun cycle 'lowest since 1928'

Right now, the solar cycle is in a valley–the deepest of the past century. In 2008 and 2009, the sun set Space Age records for low sunspot counts, weak solar wind, and low solar irradiance. The sun has gone more than two years without a significant solar flare.
“In our professional careers, we’ve never seen anything quite like it,” says Pesnell. “Solar minimum has lasted far beyond the date we predicted in 2007.”

In recent months, however, the sun has begun to show timorous signs of life. Small sunspots and “proto-sunspots” are popping up with increasing frequency. Enormous currents of plasma on the sun