If you haven’t been keeping up with solar activity, now is the time to! This year [2012] we are entering a double peak of solar activity, and a lot of CME’s and solar flares are being directed towards earth and causing quite a bit of geomagnetic storming. [Usually resulting in aurora borealis in Northern Hemisphere areas as well as appearing sometimes a bit more towards the South than is normal.] This heightened solar activity also sometimes influences electrical grids [black outs are possible], satellites, and a possible emittance of slight radiation which would be exposed to astronauts and high altitude fliers alike.