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The huge sunspot formation that emerged on July 4 has begun subsiding, and alarmist predictions that the sun would "blow up" or emit some sort of gigantic flare toward the earth have proved--not unexpectedly-- unfounded.

However, one thing is clear: the new solar max does appear to be intensifying after a long period of quiescence, and the sudden emergence of the huge sunspot did indeed startle solar scientists.

Spaceweather.com was inundated with emails about the possibility of a large flare coming out of Sunspot 1024, and had this to say in response:

"Many readers are writing to ask if this sunspot is going to produce a major solar storm today, July 7th. Such a storm was "predicted" by a set of crop circles in England, and the solar blogosphere has been abuzz with speculation. The answer is "no." A major storm is not in the offing. Sunspot 1024 is relatively large, but it does not have the kind of complex magnetic field that poses a threat for major eruptions. Crop circles, it turns out, are not a useful tool for forecasting solar activity."

To set the record straight, the predictions were made by crop circle observers, not by the formations. They have, however, been suggesting--at least, according to some observers--that the solar cycle would take a dramatic turn, which appears to have happened, and very unexpectedly.

The July 4 event startled solar scientists, who have been observing an unusually quiet sun for two years, and had no reason to expect this sudden change. On the 5th, Spaceweather.com said this:

"What a difference 48 hours can make. Only two days ago the sun was blank and calm, displaying the sort of unrelenting quiet we've come to expect from the deepest solar minimum in a century. Then, with startling rapidity, sunspot 1024 burst onto the scene: movie. Unlike other recent "sun-specks", this active region is a full-fledged sunspot group with more than a dozen planet-sized dark cores, crackling with B- and C-class solar flares."

http://www.unknowncountry.com/news/?id=7686