Policy Documents

The Varying Sun & Climate Change

Willie Soon & Sallie Baliunas –
January 1, 2003

Early in the nineteenth century, William Hirschel (1738-1822), discoverer of Uranus and one of the greatests minds in astronomy, wondered if the sun could vary in ways that would affect the climate of the earth.  He did so while uncovering the first proof for "invisible light" or infrared radiation, through an ingenious study of the solar spectrum. (... read more)