The curious case of the shrinking Sun

Claims made by astronomers in the past few years that the sun is shrinking are discussed, the methods of measurement examined and the implication of such shrinkage are considered. A model of climatic changes attributable to changes in the size of the sun has been propounded by Gilliland who studied the annual changes in the average temperature of the northern hemisphere since 1881 and obtained the best possible fit to this pattern by combining three external influences: the greenhouse, volcanic and solar effects. Climatic changes until the turn of the century are predicted. (U.K.)