Science: Sunspot Upturn

All over the world last week astronomers expectantly watched the sun. Close to the solar equator a few small sunspots appeared, lasted a day or so, disappeared —sparse and sickly survivors of a decade-long sunspot cycle whose heyday was five years ago. The telescope men were looking for first signs of a new cycle—vigorous black splotches in the neighborhood of 30° north and south latitude, with magnetic polarities reversed in respect to the spots of the dying cycle. They had been looking for months, might have looked for months more (for sunspot changes...