Solar Storm Brewing

The Sun is a wonderful site and provides heat for the Earth; however it has its temper tantrums that affect us substantially. The sun has sunspots are regions on the Sun's surface that is marked by a lower temperature than its surroundings and an intense magnetic activity that is emitted towards earth. And they also have solar flares, which are violent explosions in the Sun’s atmosphere with an energy equivalent to tens of millions of hydrogen bombs that occur around the sunspots. Scientists monitor the sun and its irritabilities constantly. Sunspots are even easily visible by a telescope. 

Approximately every eleven years, the sun has a cycle where there is an extreme intense burst of activity on the sun’s surface from the flares and the sunspots that creates a temporary disturbance in our own magnetic field. This disturbance is called a Solar Storm, or a Magnetic Storm. Magnetic storms usually last 24 to 48 hours, but some may last for many days. 

The next Solar Storm is predicted to begin as early as this fall and reach its peak in 2012. This cycle is said to be almost 50 percent stronger than the previous cycles. So what does this mean for us humans? In a word, trouble.