een Pren e The changes in the earth's orbit Dre Dark spots tell us that the sun is The blanket of ash and gas can These are black areas on the Beta The eruption of Mount Pinatubo Eruption | ¢2%Sare | more active than | stop some surface of the | in 1991 reduced called usual and sunlight reaching sun. global sunlight by Theory Milankovitch | therefore warmer. | the earth’s 10 % and cooled cycles surface. the earth by 05°C. Volcanic It takes 41,000 It takes 100,000 Some of the The Little Ice Age eruptions years for the years for the sunlight is and Medieval Sunspot produce ash and sulphur dioxide earth's axis to tilt, straighten up, and earth's orbit to change from reflected off the ash and gas back ‘Warm Period may have been caused theory gas. tilt again. circular to more into space. This | by these changes of an ellipse. cools the earth in activity. and lowers temperatures. Sometimes the | Ifthe ash and gas | Lot's of spots | Over 26,000years | Glacial and sun haslot’s of | rise high enough | mean moresolar | the earth's axis interglacial Orbital theory dark spots and other times they disappear. These spots are called sunspots. they can spread round the earth by strong winds. energy being fired out from the sun ‘towards the earth. ‘wobbles’ and straighten up, like a spinning top. (warmer) periods may have been caused by these orbital changes.