Maunder minimum
n.— «Between 1645 and 1714, astronomers reported almost no sunspot activity. This solar funk, which has not been repeated, came to be called the “Maunder minimum,” and it coincided with the coldest part of the Little Ice Age in Europe and North America.» —“Solar funk” by Pamela Zerbinos Astronomy.com June 18, 2004. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
What if, instead of being an inanimate object, a dictionary were alive? That’s the idea behind a lavishly illustrated new children’s book called The Dictionary Story (Bookshop|Amazon) by Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston. This is part of a...
Asthenosphere, a geologist’s term for the molten layer beneath the earth’s crust, sparks a journey that stretches all the way from ancient Greece to the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Plus: What the heck is a dogberg? It’s when...