Solar flares, late next year, could wreak havoc

Many people have been asking me about the possibility of cataclysmic events in 2012. According to some, on Dec. 21, 2012, the first day of winter, the Earth may be facing major changes that could lead to potentially disastrous events.

Many of us have heard about the solar cycles from “maxima” to “minima.” Recently, solar storms have been minimal, but our sun is currently heading toward a new “maxima” cycle that is expected to peak around December 2012 or early 2013. Every 11 years, the sun goes through these cycles, almost on a regular basis. But, there were periods in history when the sun went off its cycle and there were few, if any, sunspots. This occurred from 1645 to 1715, which is called the Maunder Minimum.

Many scientists are predicting that the upcoming solar maxima will be very strong. Late next year, major solar flares ejected from the sun may play havoc with orbiting satellites and even power plants. The last strong solar maxima was in the late 1990s when the Earth’s temperature peaked.

The Earth’s magnetic field protects us from the harmful radiation the sun emits. Most solar flares are harmless and will put on a light show when they come into contact with our magnetic field called the Aurora Borealis or the Northern Lights. But, there was a very strong solar flare that shut down the Hydro-Quebec Power Plant in Canada on March 13, 1989. The solar storm was so intense that the Northern Lights could be seen as far south as Florida and Cuba. Some people thought that a nuclear strike was in progress.

Another solar flare of that size, or even stronger, could disrupt GPS, television, cellphones and other devices dependent on satellites. Some electrical experts have said that our nation’s power grids are fragile and could easily be damaged or shut down by another major solar storm, which could arrive in late 2012.

The Mayans were not the only culture to predict tough times at the end of 2012. China’s oldest text, the “I Ching,” also known as the Book of Changes, originated approximately 5,000 years ago. It’s primarily used for personal fortune telling. Some believe that this text accurately predicted major events in history, and its time line is expected to end around Dec. 21, 2012.

The Hopi Indian Tribe also believes that the Earth will be in a transition period around late 2012. They believe that the Earth has been created and destroyed four times and that now we’re in a transition phase into the fifth world.

Of course, the most famous “fortune teller” of all time was Nostradamus. He lived during the 1500s and published a number of predictions that described future events. Most academic scholars maintain that his predictions provide no evidence or are even misinterpreted. Nostradamus describes many cataclysmic events, but never specifically mentions 2012.

There are a number of websites dedicated to the 2012 phenomenon. We will obviously be hearing more about these predictions as the date gets closer. Since the media made such a big deal about the apocalypse forecasts earlier this year, we’ll likely see tremendous media hype in the months preceding Dec. 21, 2012.

Keep this in mind. We’ve all heard stories and predictions about the “end of days” for years and we’re still here. This does not mean that something won’t happen, but we’re already making vacation plans for 2013. Our suggestion, “don’t worry about it.”