Could our suns 11 year sunspot cycle be related to Jupiters 11.8 year orbital period?
No. If it were, the sunspot cycle would be exactly 11.8 years, perfectly, every time. This is not the case, as we all know from this particular solar cycle, that it is very slow in “getting started.” The solar cycle averages out to be 11 years, but is not clockwork like the orbit of Jupiter is. The solar cycle has more to do with the mass and age of the Sun, than any other factor. Jupiter’s orbital period, is determined by the combined mass of Jupiter and the Sun (Jupiter can be considered to have negligible mass for all but the most detailed orbital analysis) and the distance between the two (Kepler’s Third Law).
