Bad Astronomy

Are We Alone, Little Ice Age edition

Every month or so I go on SETI’s “Are We Alone” radio show/podcast with Seth Shostak, and we discuss some weird scientifically distorted news item in a segment we call “Skeptic Check”. The latest one is now online, where Seth and I talk about the recent news about the Sun’s potentially weakening magnetic field, and some folks who have leapt to the conclusion that we’re facing a new ice age because of it.

Here’s an article I wrote about this topic, and here’s the direct link to the show. [UPDATE: I just found out the AWA blog has links to the various show segments as stand-alone audio files, so here’s the link to mine.]

The conclusion? Spoiler alert: don’t stock up on portable heaters just yet.

Related posts:

- Are we headed for a new ice age?
- The Sun may be headed for a little quiet time
- Are We Alone Skeptic Check: Tyche, or not Tyche
- Are We Alone of DEATH