'Quiet' Sun Can Damage Earth With Powerful Strikes

Despite its quiet phase, the Sun can inflict severe damage to Earth, disrupting communication and power lines, U.S. scientists say.

According to experts from the National Center for Atmospheric Research and the University of Michigan, the Earth was bombarded last year, with intense solar winds during an unusually quiet phase for the Sun. "The solar wind can hit Earth like a fire hose even when there are virtually no sunspots," Sarah Gibson of the NCAR's High Altitude Observatory told Reuters. Astronomers usually used the amount of sunspots visible on the surface of the Sun to measure its activity. This year there were fewer sunspots, add to that the Sun's effect on Earth's outer radiation was three times greater last year than in 1996. The research team gathered information from 2008 and 1996, comparing the measurements regarding the Sun's 11-year solar cycle. "The Sun continues to surprise us," Gibson added.