2008 January 04 at 06:05 p.m. MST (2008 January 05 0105 UTC)
The first sunspot region with Solar Cycle 24 polarity was numbered by the Space Weather Prediction Center on January 4 at 2000 UTC (3:00 P.M. EST). The sunspot region was officially numbered as 10981.
This does not mean the new cycle has officially started; however, this is a clear sign Solar Cycle 24 is within sight. Sunspots are tracked because they indicate the level of space weather activity we expect. Solar activity is forecast to reach a peak in 2011 or 2012
In 2012 Eye of the Shaman, I paint a picture of a world a few scant years away when heightened sunspot activity creates powerful Geomagnetic storms that render all of our technology useless. Power grids, satellites, computers and mobile phones work inconsistently.
World in peril?
When the charged particles from such storms reach Earth, they can move the magnetic field that surrounds the planet, and if a magnetic field moves in relation to a conductor, it produces an electric current in the conductor. In this case, the conductor is the surface of the Earth itself, and the electric current that develops in it interferes with the man-made electric systems.
The March 1989 solar storm, imperceptible to people, caused a blackout all over Quebec and ruined two of the three huge transformers at the Salem 1 nuclear station in southern New Jersey.
The Salem failures were among 200 that the North American Electric Reliability Council, a utility group, determined resulted from that storm. The damage extended as far as southern California
<source: NY Times>
Image from: May 29, 2003 —
A complex sunspot region near the center of the sun produced three major flares in the last 48 hours. A strong solar wind was observed in response to the first two events. The three Coronal Mass Ejections associated with the flares ejected billions of tons of plasma and charged particles into space. The third coronal mass ejection, which is heading towards Earth at a speed of 3 million miles per hour.
What happens if…?
Tags: , 2012, nasa 2012, solar flares, solar maximum, solar storm, sunspots