Solar activity has suddenly increased with a series of strong...

Space Weather News for July 14, 2005
http://spaceweather.com

Solar activity has suddenly increased with a series of strong
explosions from sunspot 786, including an X-category flare this
morning. Because the sunspot is near the sun's western limb, none of
the blasts was squarely Earth-directed. Nevertheless, coronal mass
ejections hurled into space by these explosions could deliver glancing
blows to Earth's magnetic field as early as tonight (July 14-15) and
continuing through the weekend, possibly sparking geomagnetic storms
and auroras. Check spaceweather.com for movies of the explosions, more
information and updates.