RSS Feed  A puzzling discovery has raised a question mark over
the Sun's impact on climate change and could provide ammunition
for sceptics, it was revealed today. Until now it has been
assumed that less activity from the Sun equates to less warming
of the Earth. But the new research, which focuses on a three-
year snapshot of time between 2004 and 2007, suggests the
opposite may be true. As solar activity waned at the end of one
of the Sun's 11-year cycles, the new data show the amount of
energy reaching the Earth at visible wavelengths rose rather
than fell. Scientists believe it may also be possible that
during the next up-turn of the cycle, when sun activity
increases, there might be a cooling effect at the Earth's
surface. A further twist arises from the fact that over the past
century, overall solar activity has been increasing. If the new
findings apply to long as well as short time periods, this could
translate into a small degree of cooling rather than the slight
warming effect shown in existing clima