Need Something Else to Worry About? How About Sunspots?

It's time for the sun to move into a busier period for sunspots, and while forecasters expect a relatively mild outbreak by historical standards, one major solar storm can cause havoc with satellites and electrical systems here.

That's okay! We've joked about sunspots being the source of all kinds of unidentified glitches in the past!

...A report by the National Academy of Sciences found that if a storm as severe as one in 1859 occurred today, it could cause $1 trillion to $2 trillion in damage the first year and take four to 10 years to recover.

The 1859 storm shorted out telegraph wires, causing fires in North America and Europe, sent readings of Earth's magnetic field soaring, and produced northern lights so bright that people read newspapers by their light.

Holy Samoleans! If a storm like that could short out telegraph wires on the ground, just think what it could do to GPS and cell phone satellites! You might even have trouble reading this bl