Before 2008, data collected since the 1980s indicated a notable lull in solar activity, which has since reversed itself. Solar flares, solar storms, and coronal mass ejections are examples of the types of increasing disturbances that could have detrimental effects for us on Earth. A History of Solar StormsGenerated by particularly strong magnetic activity, sunspots are darkened, cooler points on the solar surface. Those astronomers identified a period from 1645 to 1715 during which solar activity significantly diminished. With our modern computerized society’s reliance on these systems and the threats to astronauts’ direct safety, NASA tracks these space weather events.