Patterns in Solar Variability, Their Planetary Origin, and Terrestrial Impacts: New Perspective

This is the Preface of the Special Issue of Pattern Recognition in Physics published in 2013, here
reprinted with some modifications and updating. We hope that by the arguments and facts presented
in this volume, we have lifted “the planetary hypothesis” to the level of a “planetary theory” and we
even foresee that it will lead to a new paradigm on planetary–solar–terrestrial interaction. We are well
aware of the fact that there is much more to learn and improve, but we trust the theory is here to stay.
The volume consists of 12 independent papers. Several papers have addressed the question about
the evolution of climate during the 21st century. Obviously, we are on our way into a new grand solar
minimum. This sheds serious doubts on the issue of a continued, even accelerated, warming as
claimed by the IPCC projects.