The Maunder Minimum refers to a period of significantly reduced sunspot activity that occurred approximately from 1645 to 1715. This period is named after the British astronomer Edward Maunder, who studied historical sunspot records and demonstrated that very few sunspots were observed during this time. The Maunder Minimum coincided with a phase of the Little Ice Age, a time characterized by cooler temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere.
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The Maunder minimum is the interval approximately 1645–1715 when recorded sunspot activity was exceptionally low. It is the best-known historical solar grand minimum. Historical coverage and cosmogenic-isotope records require care in inferring its precise magnetic amplitude; evidence for weak modulation need not imply that the normal spot-producing dynamo disappeared completely.