In terms of timing, it is interesting to note that the U.S. government’s Space Environmental Center has determined that the peak of the next solar (sunspot) cycle is likely to be in 2011/2012. According to CNN, during these peaks in the cycle, solar flares and vast explosions, known as coronal mass ejections, shoot highly charged matter toward earth, potentially affecting airline flights, communications satellites, and electric transmissions. Currents induced in electrical transmission lines can cause blackouts.