The seasons of the Sun

The sun is more than what most people tend to believe. It is not simply a featureless and unchanging ball of light, but a complex element which even encumbers its own seasons, or rather cycles of activity which are constantly changing. It gives off flares and sunspots daily producing a spectacular array within the solar system, though we will probably never see this site for what it truly is as satellites can only get so close to it, for obvious reasons of melting in the heat.
Around July, and especially back in 1999, the sun was showing its maximum activity in the solar system. We do feel these effects on earth, to a certain degree, with regards to radio communications, power disruption, weather changes and orbiting space crafts.
The sunspots on the sun appear as dark blotches, and are actually relatively cool areas compared to the rest of the sun, though cool to the sun is still burning to the touch, (not that anyone would ever get near enough to touch it and live to tell the tale)
Scientists count the number of sunspots to measure the scale of a solar cycle, and to establish how long the cycle lasts. If scientists were able to predict sunspot activity, not only would we know ahead of time what the Sun will do, but we might gain a better understanding of how the Sun operates.

Sunspots:

Quote :

"Explosions from the sun travel through space and hit the Earth, causing the magnetic field to wobble and shake," says Hathaway.

Apparently up until the year 2001, the daily number of sunspots rose to about 100-300 a day, though after that they reduced into solar minimum, creating a curve which helps scientists predict the futire of the sun within the solar system and the so-called seasons of the sun.

source: http://spacescience.com/newhome/headlines/ast22jul99_1.htm