>> TO HE'S OF US, THE SUN IS A STEADY NEVER-CHANGING SOURCE OF HEAT AND LIGHT BUT TO SCIENTISTS IT'S A DYNAMIC STAR CONSTANTLY IN FLUX SENDING ENERGY OUT INTO SPACE.

RIGHT NOW EXPERTS SAY IT'S IN ITSELF MOST ACTIVE PERIOD IN TWO DECADES.

FOR US, THE SIGNS ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE MORE NORTHERN LIGHTS CIVIL OVER A WILDER AREA AND PERHAPS DISRUPTIONS TO RADIO AND SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS.

THE PERSON IN CHARGE OF COORDINATING THE GOVERNMENT'S RESPONSE TO THESE POTENTIAL DESCRIPTIONS IS BILL MURTAH.

PROGRAM DIRECTOR FOR NOAA'S SPACE CENTER.

PEAK ACTIVITY, WHAT'S GOING ON, WHAT'S THE ACTIVITY?

>> SO, THE SUN IS LIKE THE EARTH IN ONE WAY.

IT'S A BIG MAG INNOCENT -- MAGNATE.

IT'S GOT A BIG NORTH POLE AND A BIG SOUTH POLE.

BUT OVER THE COURSE OF SEVEN YEARS, IT DOES A REVERSAL OF THE POLARITY.

THE SUN IS A BIG BALL OF ELECTRICALLY -- CHARGED GAS, TURNING AND ROTATING AND THE MAGNETIC FIELDS TURN AND TWIST AND ESSENTIALLY IT'S A ROTATION OF THAT MAGNETIC FIELD OVER AN 11-YEAR PERIOD AND RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS PROCESS THESE SUN SPOTS EMERGE AND THEY'RE LOCALIZED MAGNETIC STRESS AREAS ON THE SUN THAT CAN PRODUCE BIG ERUPTIONS AND SIMILAR FLARES, CORONA MASS, >> S, MINUTIC PARTICLE BLASTS, ALL BLAST RADIATION AND ENERGY TOWARDS THE EARTH AND CAN AFFECT A LOT OF THE DIFFERENT TECHNOLOGIES WE RELY ON FOR EVERYTHING WE DO.

RIGHT NOW WE'RE IN THE VERY MIDDLE OF THIS 11-YEAR REVERSAL PROCESS AND WE REFER TO IT AS SOLAR MAXIMUM, BEING THE PERIOD OF MOST SIMILAR ACTIVITY WHERE WE'RE SEEING THE MOST SUN SPOTS.

THAT'S WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS AND WILL HAPPEN OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS WHERE WE'LL SEE LOTS OF SUN SPOTS AND ERUPTIONS THAT WILL BE AFFECTING LOTS OF OUR TECHNOLOGIES HERE ON EARTH BUT, OF COURSE, PRODUCING THE BEAUTIFUL NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN LIGHTS AS WELL.

>> ARE SOME OF THESE FLARES MORE ACTIVE THAN OTHERS?

>> YES, IT'S LIKE HURRICANE SEASON.

SOME HURRICANE SEASONS VERY ACTIVE AND'RES -- OTHERS, NOT SO MUCH.

SAME THING WITH THE SUN SPOT CYCLE.

WE'VE GOT SOME VERY BIG CYCLE.

WE'VE BEEN MEASURING THESE SUN SPOT CYCLES SINCE 1755.

THE BIGGEST ONE WAS THE ONE IN A PEAK COULD IN 1953.

THE LAST COUPLE OF CYCLES QUITE A BIT SMALLER SO THEY DO RANGE IN INTENSITY.

IT'S 11 YEARS AVERAGE BUT SOMETIMES AS QUICK AS A NINE-YEAR CYCLE AND SOMETIMES UP TO 14-YEAR CYCLES.

>> HOW COULD YOU MEASURE AND TRACK WHAT'S GOING ON?

>> BACK IN THE OLD DAYS -- ESSENTIALLY SINCE GALILEO AND OTHERS INVENT THE TELL COACH IS WE'VE BEEN WATCHING THE SUN, PROJECTING THE IMAGE OF A SUN ON A A WHITE LIGHT BOARD WHERE YOU CAN SEE THE RECORD OF SUN SPOTS.

SO THAT DATES ALL THE WAY BACK TO 1755 THAT'S HELPED US ESTABLISH THAT AVERAGE 11-YEAR CYCLE BUT, OF COURSE, TECHNOLOGY HAS EVOLVED TREMENDOUSLY OVER THE LAST 20, 30, 40 YEARS SO NOW WE HAVE ALL SORTS OF INSTRUMENTS IN SPACE TAKING PICTURES OF THE SUN, MONITORING THE SUN'S SURFACE, MONITORING THE CORONA.

AND THEN A MILLION MILES OUT, ONE SPACECRAFT AND CLOSER TO EARTH MORE MEASURING THE SUN AND ALL SORTS OF INSTRUMENTS MEASURING DIFFERENT TYPES OF EMISSIONS FROM THE SUN AND HOW THEY'RE AFFECTING THE TECHNOLOGY AND THE EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE.

>> TELL US MORE ABOUT THE PRACTICAL EFFECTS ON EARTH AND MAYBE EVEN IN SPACE?

>> THESE ERUPTIONS, WHEN THEY OCCUR THERE'S ALL SORTS OF EMISSIONS AND WHETHER A FLARE OCCURS THERE'S A BLAST OF RADIO MAGNETIC RADIATION.

IT CAN AFFECT AIRCRAFT, COMMUNICATIONS.

AIRCRAFT COMMUNICATING WITH THE GROUND CAN HAVE INTERFERENCE.

WE GET THESE BIG ENERGETIC BLAST OF PARTICLES FOLLOWING SOON AFTER THE FLARE.

THEY CAN AFFECT SATELLITES.

THEY AFFECT THE ASTRONAUTS IN SPACE, WHICH IS A BIG THING GOING GUARD SUPPORTING THE ARTEMUS MISSIONS AND GOING BACK TO THE MOON.

WHEN THAT CORONA MASS EJECTION HITS EARTH'S MAG NETTIC FIELD, IT PRODUCES UNWANTED CURRENT THAT CAN FLOW INTO IF POWER GRILLED AND CAUSE BIG PROBLEMS.

WORST CASE, IT CAN PROVIDE A BLACKOUT.

WHAT WE HAVE TO DO IN THE PREDICTION CENTER IS BOULDER IS GET OUT THE ALERTS THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES AND KAN SO THEY CAN TAKE ACTION DURING THESE BIG GIO MAGNETIC STORMS.

>> SOME OF THESE RECORDS GO ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE 1TH CENTURY.

TELL US ABOUT THAT.

>> I TALKED ABOUT HURRICANES EARLIER.

I'LL DO IT AGAIN.

PEOPLE KNOW WHAT HURRICANE KATRINA AND SAND AND I AND IN SPACE WE'VE HAD BIG EVENTS.

THE CARRINGTON EVENT IN 1858 WAS AN EXTRAORDINARY ERUPTION.

A SCIENTIST IN ENGLAND WAS WATCHING THE SUN AND ALL OF A SUDDEN HE SEES THESE BIG WHITE SPOTS, HE WAS LOOKING AT A MAJOR FLARE AND JUST 19 HOURS LATER, THAT CORONA MASS EJECTION MADE ITSELF WAY TO EARTH, IMPACTED THE EARTH AND IT SURPRISED A LOT OF PEOPLE.

YOU KNOW, OUR FRIENDS UP IN THE NORTH, KAN, ALASKA AND SAND NAVA, THEY'RE USED TO SEEING THE NORTHERN LIGHTS.

WHAT WAS IT LIGHT LIKE IN SEPTEMBER OF 1859 WHEN THE FOLKS IN CUBA AND CENTRAL AMERICA LOOKED UP AND COULD SEE THE NORTHERN LIGHTS?

IT WAS A POWERFUL STORM AND EVEN THE TECHNOLOGY OF TODAY, THE TELL GRASP SYSTEMS, BIG LONG CONDUCTORS, WIRES, LINES, CAUSING ALL SORTS OF HAVOC.

IT WAS AN EXTRAORDINARY EVENT AND IT IS THE ONE WE FEAR TODAY.

>> BILL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

IT'S FASCINATING.

>> IT WAS A PLEASURE TALKING TO YOU.

THANK YOU.