Just Wondering is the Sun getting brighter?

Hey everyone,

I must say hard to say since its always been hard to look at the sun but it seems its hard to even look up these days. I would probably say no but does anyone on ATS notice that the sun seems to be really bright these past few months? I know the sun gets bigger when it ages and therefore brighter right? or could it be that it only seems that way since we have less ICE to reflect light on our planet?

Just wondering and looking for feedback

reply to post by CanadianBlueTrue

Nope, i have not noticed this. But it could be result of thinner ozonelayer in your area or less hazy atmospheric conditions.

The sun has actually shrunk a little bit compared to last decades due to lower solar activity. It expands and shrinks over the course of a solar cycle depending on the strength.

reply to post by CanadianBlueTrue


The sun,oh that pesky eye flare,I can't wait til june 5 when a certain planet will create a little black hole.

You can't wait until a planet creates a black hole, in the process destroying an almost infinite amount of matter? What a thing to say! As to your original post, and I'm not insulting you in saying this but your vulnerability to the suns light rays could just be because you haven't been out in the sun alot.

The answer to your question is yes, the sun is brighter these days:

The sun is in a changed state. It is brighter than it was a few hundred years ago and this brightening started relatively recently -- in the last 100 to 150 years," Mr. Solanski said.
[/quote

www.washingtontimes.com...

edit on 22-2-2012 by Iamschist because: fixed bum link

Originally posted by Iamschist
The answer to your question is yes, the sun is brighter these days:

The sun is in a changed state. It is brighter than it was a few hundred years ago and this brightening started relatively recently -- in the last 100 to 150 years," Mr. Solanski said.
[/quote

www.washingtontimes.com...

But that is an old article. The activity has now calmed down and we are now having the weakest solar cycle in a century.
So that means sun has not gotten any brighter at least over the last decade.

edit on 22-2-2012 by juleol because: (no reason given)

reply to post by juleol


Yes it is an old article and I am unable to find anything current to support my point. So I must withdraw it as being misleading. Any Solar scientists on here are welcome to come by and weigh in.

The immediate sun hasn't gotten any brighter but it's the evolutionary path that it will grow hotter and consequently extend it's outer atmosphere, and an expanse in its atmosphere implies an increase in heat, which may or not may contribute to it being 'brighter'.

reply to post by CanadianBlueTrue


Eat more carrots. See an eye doctor, honestly.


No, I have not noticed the sun getting brighter to the best of my knowledge, but I don't look at it either.

The sun is expanding at such a slow rate I doubt anyone can really notice it in their lifetime.

Also, I think the sun may get dimmer, or cooler, and turn to a redshift millions of years down the road as it grows, Also, I remember reading somewhere that the Earth is also very slowly moving further away from the sun, very very slowly that is.

And, also, the moon is moving away from the Earth at almost 4 inches a year, so I've been taught.

Hope this helps.

Edit to add:

Sunglasses:

In prehistoric and historic time, Inuit peoples wore flattened walrus ivory "glasses," looking through narrow slits to block harmful reflected rays of the sun.[3]

It is said that the Roman emperor Nero liked to watch gladiator fights with emeralds. These, however, appear to have worked rather like mirrors.[4] Sunglasses made from flat panes of smoky quartz, which offered no corrective powers but did protect the eyes from glare were used in China in the 12th century or possibly earlier. Ancient documents describe the use of such crystal sunglasses by judges in ancient Chinese courts to conceal their facial expressions while questioning witnesses.[5]

James Ayscough began experimenting with tinted lenses in spectacles in the mid-18th century, around 1752. These were not "sunglasses" as that term is now used; Ayscough believed blue- or green-tinted glass could correct for specific vision impairments. Protection from the Sun's rays was not a concern for him.

Yellow/amber and brown-tinted spectacles were also a commonly prescribed item for people with syphilis in the 19th[dubious – discuss] and early 20th centuries because sensitivity to light was one of the symptoms of the disease.

en.wikipedia.org...

Then there is the Bible which says that in the end times the sun will be 7 times brighter and the moon (reflected light) will be as bright as the sun. I see this as a 'sudden' event, atmospheric or return of a canopy of water (acting as a magnifying glass).

I've noticed it and comment on it all the time. I don't have any measurable data other than I'll go out and can't look even at a 45 degree angle---it's too bright. It's never been a factor until last year. I look at the sun all the time through my welding helmet. But the last summer or two I noticed that when I'd walk outside, the brilliance was blinding without even looking near it.

I concur OP. No idea why though other than a shift in plasma intensity or related to all of the CMEs...

Maybe more people are beginning to wake up? Maybe those are the souls returning back from the recently deceased? If your wondering what I am talking about check out my latest thread... Or you can refer to the Johnny Nash song I can see clearly now...There is possibly some spiritual meaning behind it all..

The energy output of the Sun (known as irradiance) doesn't change much from year to year or even from decade to decade. What does change is the atmosphere through which that output travels before it reaches the surface.

Haze (whether caused by moisture in the air or smoke or dust) increases glare. Increased glare makes the entire sky brighter. Looking up becomes harder on the eyes.

As the Sun runs out of hydrogen, it will begin to fuse carbon, which would account for the brightening phenomenon.

I remember, back in my early techie days, we would extract the lead from a wooden pencil, and hook it up across a 5v, 300a power supply.

That thing would glow white hot!

Kinda reminds me of the color that the Sun is now...

Amazing we didn't cause ourselves injury or loss.

reply to post by juleol


mmm did not know that

To the OPs origional question.

You cannot measure light levels using only your eyes.
Especially over a period of months to years.

By that method the distance from my parents house to my school has gotten shorter over the years.
It used to be so far from home that I had to stop for a soda and the hill was so steep I had to push my bike.
But now it's only 1.75 miles.

reply to post by CanadianBlueTrue


Pay attention to the AURORA of EA*RTH illuminate more. The more many report globally the brighter the SUN/SOL may be and YES I do feel it has its brighter moments at times of the day, but I do STAR GAZE to catch the flickers.

NAMASTE*******

It does seem like it is getting hotter when the sun shines on my skin, than it used to feel. Could be I'm just getting older. You decide. Here is some info on it: hisheavenlyarmies.com...

a reply to: tankman1972

I wouldn't classify anything on that site as "info".

a reply to: AdmireTheDistance

I just quoted it as there are links to real info there. Lots of actual studies. Not because of the site itself.