Solar flares are associated with sunspots, and sunspots are now at a 1000-year high, and will peak in 2012. [Mayans knew ? -- law]
Daily Kos :: The coming crisis - the optimistic scenarios
Solar Phenomena - 2012 sunspots
Sunspots have an eleven-year activity cycle that coincides with a 22-year pole complete magnetic pole flip of the sun *. When sunspots are at their peak, the sun actually becomes brighter. This is because magnetically brighter areas surround each sunspot, more than making up for the dimmer areas. They peaked last in 2001, and had their last big dip in 1995. If you own a telescope and a solar filter, you should see a decreasing amount of sunspots right now, with the next peak in 2012.
The diagram above depicts sunspot records dating back almost 400 years. It plainly shows that along with the eleven-year sunspot cycle, there appears to be a huge low where sunspot activity is extremely minimal. The last one was during the Maunder Minimum that lasted between 1645 and 1715. During this period, rivers that were normally ice-free froze and snow fields remained year-round in lower altitudes. This is known as the 'Little Ice Age. Evidence of similar periods of inactivity are present in radioactive carbon-14 from 8000-year-old trees. There are also periods of increased activity, the last one occurring in the twelfth century. These periods can last for over 200 years.
Solar Phenomena: "
When everything seems like the movies
Yeah you BLOG bleed just to know you'r alive