Maunder minimum

noun

A period similar to the Maunder Minimum observed on a star other than the Sun.

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Meanings

Maunder minimum1

nounMaunder minimum (plural Maunder minimums or Maunder minima)

plural Maunder minimums · plural Maunder minima

  1. astronomyA period similar to the Maunder Minimum observed on a star other than the Sun.
proper nounthe Maunder minimum
  1. Alternative letter-case form of Maunder Minimum.

Maunder Minimum2

proper nounthe Maunder Minimum

alternative Maunder minimum

  1. astronomyThe period between 1645 and 1715 marked by records and other indications of very low levels of sunspot activity of the Sun, corresponding to a period of global cooling.

Origin

First noted by Gustav Spörer in publications in 1887 and 1889, work that was relayed to the Royal Astronomical Society in London, and then expanded on, by the solar astronomers Edward Walter Maunder (1851–1928) and (his wife) Annie S. D. Maunder (1868–1947).

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Cite this entry
APA

Maunder minimum. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Maunder%20minimum

MLA

“Maunder minimum.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Maunder%20minimum. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Maunder minimum,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Maunder%20minimum.

Source: Maunder minimum on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.