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Hello, Sunspot! Where Have You Been?

Irene Klotz, Discovery News

The other half expects the sun to take a bit of a breather, with roughly 90 spots on average during the month of August in 2012, representing solar maximum.

"We're all pretty entrenched in our position," said Douglas Biesecker, the NOAA scientist chairing the panel. "One camp will clearly have egg on its face when this is over."

The prediction is far from mere sport. Heightened solar activity, which is tied to the number of sunspots, increases risks to power grids, military, civilian and airline communications, GPS signals, cell phones and even ATM transactions.

"A big cycle certainly costs money in terms of damaged goods, damaged satellites, the impact on airlines that fly routes over the poles," Hathaway said.

And it's still a bit early to say for sure Cycle 24 has begun, he added.

"It's starting off with such a whimper. We need three or four months behind us before we know if the old cycle has died off and the new one has begun."

Related Links:

Irene Klotz's blog: Free Space

My take: Solar Pains in the Rear

The SOHO Laboratory