Giant solar Flares predicted in May 2013

Hi,


In 1859, a geomagnetic storm sparked by a huge solar flare swept over the Earth. Telegraph wires shorted out and set houses on fire. A brilliant aurora was seen in Hawaii—so bright that "people could read newspapers by [its] red and green glow."

Scientists predict that in May 2013, the sun's solar cycle will peak at about the same level as in 1859.

Next week, scientists will meet at the Space Weather Enterprise Forum to talk about how to monitor and predict so-called "space weather"—solar flares, interplanetary magnetic fields, etc.

They predict a marked increase in solar storms over the next few years. According to NASA scientist Richard Fisher: "The sun is waking up from a deep slumber, and in the next few years we expect to see much higher levels of solar activity."

This is bad news for anyone who likes electronic things.

We're so dependent on technology hooked up to satellites, which can be disabled or destroyed by huge waves of charged particles spit out by the sun during a solar storm: GPS, cell phones—even credit card transactions use a satellite. A severe solar storm will knock out commercial satellites, blow down transformers, power lines, "leaving millions of people in northern latitudes without power."