For anyone who studied the sciences in the 1960s-1970s, you know what this means.
Today marks the 33rd day in 2017 that the sun has been blank–no sunspots. This exceeds the total number of spotless days in all of 2016 (32). The accelerating pace of spotlessness is a sign that Solar Minimum is approaching. Forecasters expect the sunspot cycle, which swings like a pendulum between high and low sunspot number every ~11 years, to reach its nadir in 2019-2020. Stay tuned for more blank suns.
Meanwhile, cosmic rays are intensifying.
Via SpaceWeather