NASA scientists are using new techniques to predict sunspot maxima years in advance. Click here for the latest predictions for the current solar cycle. Click on the image for current predictions. During the solar maximum there are many sunspots, solar flares, and coronal mass ejections, all of which can affect communications and weather here on Earth. One way we track solar activity is by observing sunspots.
Sunspots are relatively cool areas that appear as dark blemishes on the face of the sun.
They are formed when magnetic field lines just below the sun's surface are twisted and poke though the solar photosphere. The twisted magnetic field above sunspots are sites where solar flares are observed to occur, and we are now beginning to understand the connection between solar flares and sunspots . During solar maximum there are many sunspots, and during solar minimum there are few. The plot at right shows the number of sunspots observed during the last two solar cycles. The last maximum occurred around 1989, and the next is predicted to fall in the year 2000.