The expectation that scientists can isolate the precise date and time of a solar maximum is a common misconception, says Hathaway. In reality there is no single episode. Instead, the solar maximum will last over an extended period of time. The effects of previous solar maximums have been visible as far south as the Panhandle of Florida. Hathaway remembers seeing aurora in 1980 while in Boulder, Colorado - a relatively southern latitude.
Sunspots are cooler areas on the sun's surface surrounded by twisted magnetic fields.
Solar flares, the biggest eruptions in the solar system, derive energy from these magnetic fields. A sudden change in the fields can release ample energy to fuel powerful solar flares and coronal mass ejections. When aimed at Earth they can trigger geomagnetic storms that disrupt communication systems, imperil satellites, affect weather patterns, and cause auroras. The dotted lines above and below the solid curve line indicate the prediction curve's range of error. Trying to survive on the sun's boiling surface is not an easy mission.