A fungus (/ËfÊÅÉ¡És/; plural: fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, Fungi, which is separate from the other eukaryotic life kingdoms of plants and animals. A characteristic that places fungi in a different kingdom from plants, bacteria and some protists, is chitin in their cell walls.
The 11-year cycle of the number of sunspots was first demonstrated by Heinrich Schwabe (1789-1875) in 1843. There have been several periods during which sunspots were rare or absent, most notably the Maunder minimum (1645-1715), and less markedly the Dalton minimum (1795-1820) (Fig 2.8 in the book).
He found that the number of sunspots rose and fell in a nearly regular cycle, lasting about 11 years. Interestingly, it soon turned out that big magnetic storms when the magnetic field was disturbed (typically by up to 1%) seemed to occur most frequently during the years with the most sunspots.