Astronomers say they're also worried about an angry sun.
In January, just as computers around the world are coping with the Y2K bug, the sun will enter the most violent and disruptive phase of its 11-year cycle. Ships and planes relying on satellites for navigation might have to haul out old-fashioned maps. Even spacewalking astronauts could be at risk, according to reports Monday at the national meeting of the American Astronomical Society. Researchers, using new techniques, are forecasting the sun's cycle to peak during the months of January to April. The sun is expected to be busy with solar flares and coronal mass ejections - solar explosions that can equal a million 100 megaton hydrogen bombs.