Friederich Wilhelm Gustav Spörer (October 23 1822 – July 7 1895) was a German astronomer.
He is noted for his studies of sunspots and sunspot cycles. In this regard his name is often mentioned together with Edward Maunder. Spörer was first to note a prolonged period of low sunspot activity from 1645 to 1715, this period is known as the Maunder Minimum.
Spörer was a contemporary of Richard Christopher Carrington, an English astronomer. Carrington is generally credited with discovering Spörer's law, which governs the variation of sunspot latitudes during the course of a solar cycle. Spörer added to Carrington's observations of sunspot drift, and is sometimes credited with the discovery.
The Spörer minimum was a period of low sunspot activity roughly between 1420 to 1570.
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Last updated: 05-07-2005 01:50:08
