HOW WELL WAS THE SUN OBSERVED DURING THE MAUNDER MINIMUM

In this paper we examine how well the Sun and sunspots were observed d uring the Maunder Minimum from 1645 to 1715. Recent research has given us the dates of observations by Hevelius, Picard, La Hire, Flamsteed, and about 70 other observers. These specific observations allow a 'lo wer estimate' of the fraction of the time the Sun was observed to be d educed. It is found that 52.7% of the days have recorded observations. There are additional 12 observers who provide general statements that no sunspots were observed during specific years or intervals despite diligent efforts. Taking these statements to mean, unrealistically, th at every day during these intervals was observed, gives an 'upper esti mate' of 98% of the days. If the general statements are relaxed by ass uming that 100 +/- 50 days per year were actually observed by these di ligent observers, than our 'best estimate' is that 68% +/- 7% of the d ays during the Maunder Minimum were observed. In short, this supports the view that the Maunder Minimum existed and was not an artifact of f ew observations. Some sunspots are probably still missed in modern com pilations, but the existence of a prolonged sunspot minimum would not be threatened by their discovery in future research. Additional suppor t for intense scrutiny of the Sun comes from a report of a white-light flare in 1705 and from the numerous reports of new sunspots entering the disk of the Sun.