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Title: TESTING THE LINK BETWEEN TERRESTRIAL CLIMATE CHANGE AND GALACTIC SPIRAL ARM TRANSIT

Abstract

We re-examine past suggestions of a close link between terrestrial climate change and the Sun's transit of spiral arms in its path through the Milky Way galaxy. These links produced concrete fits, deriving the unknown spiral pattern speed from terrestrial climate correlations. We test these fits against new data on spiral structure based on CO data that do not make simplifying assumptions about symmetry and circular rotation. If we compare the times of these transits with changes in the climate of Earth, the claimed correlations not only disappear, but we also find that they cannot be resurrected for any reasonable pattern speed.

Authors:
;  [1];  [2]
  1. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kansas, 1251 Wescoe Drive 1082, Lawrence, KS 66045 (United States)
  2. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011-3160 (United States)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
21378336
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Astrophysical Journal (Online)
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 705; Journal Issue: 2; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/705/2/L101; Journal ID: ISSN 1538-4357
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
79 ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY; CLIMATES; CLIMATIC CHANGE; CORRELATIONS; MILKY WAY; ROTATION; SOLAR SYSTEM; SUN; SYMMETRY; GALAXIES; MAIN SEQUENCE STARS; MOTION; STARS

Citation Formats

Overholt, Andrew C, Melott, Adrian L, and Pohl, Martin. TESTING THE LINK BETWEEN TERRESTRIAL CLIMATE CHANGE AND GALACTIC SPIRAL ARM TRANSIT. United States: N. p., 2009. Web. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/705/2/L101.
Overholt, Andrew C, Melott, Adrian L, & Pohl, Martin. TESTING THE LINK BETWEEN TERRESTRIAL CLIMATE CHANGE AND GALACTIC SPIRAL ARM TRANSIT. United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/705/2/L101
Overholt, Andrew C, Melott, Adrian L, and Pohl, Martin. 2009. "TESTING THE LINK BETWEEN TERRESTRIAL CLIMATE CHANGE AND GALACTIC SPIRAL ARM TRANSIT". United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/705/2/L101.
@article{osti_21378336,
title = {TESTING THE LINK BETWEEN TERRESTRIAL CLIMATE CHANGE AND GALACTIC SPIRAL ARM TRANSIT},
author = {Overholt, Andrew C and Melott, Adrian L and Pohl, Martin},
abstractNote = {We re-examine past suggestions of a close link between terrestrial climate change and the Sun's transit of spiral arms in its path through the Milky Way galaxy. These links produced concrete fits, deriving the unknown spiral pattern speed from terrestrial climate correlations. We test these fits against new data on spiral structure based on CO data that do not make simplifying assumptions about symmetry and circular rotation. If we compare the times of these transits with changes in the climate of Earth, the claimed correlations not only disappear, but we also find that they cannot be resurrected for any reasonable pattern speed.},
doi = {10.1088/0004-637X/705/2/L101},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/21378336}, journal = {Astrophysical Journal (Online)},
issn = {1538-4357},
number = 2,
volume = 705,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Nov 10 00:00:00 EST 2009},
month = {Tue Nov 10 00:00:00 EST 2009}
}