Sunspot activity has been observed since the time of Galileo in 1610, with detailed records kept for over 200 years by specialist solar observatories. The temperature within sunspots is about 4,600 K, and there appears to be a sunspot cycle that peaks every 11.1 years. …show more content…
As they near Earth, the magnetic storm compresses the bow wave of the magnetosphere and the auroras rage as particles penetrate the field's defences at their lowest points near the poles and spiral around the Earth's lines of force back and forth between the magnetic poles. The ring current running around the Earth in the ionosphere and Van Allen Belts increases causing difficulties in radio communications which rely on reflection off the