Do sunspots affect the Earth?

YES! From 1645-1715 there was an ice age on Earth. At the same time there were hardly any sunspots. Well, it's not precisely the sunspots which effect us, it's the general solar activity which is linked to the sunspot cycle.

The strange thing is that people have found links between the number of sunspots and all kinds of things here on Earth. Sunspots are said to affect the weather, farmer's crops, how fish breed and even our moods! Not too sure about all of these, maybe a bit more research is needed.

In 1989 the Sun's activity brought Quebec in Canada to a standstill - there was a huge power failure.

Radio signals are affected too - you might miss your favourite TV program because of the Sun!

During a solar flare the Sun sends out lots of X-rays and fast particles. The radiation could zapp you if you were in space, just like it can zapp the electronics on satellites.

On Earth we are safe from the radiation because the atmosphere blocks it out. We are also safe from the particles because of the Earth's magnetic field. It stops them reaching us, except at the poles where they cause the amazing spectacle known as the Aurora or the Northern and Southern lights. To see the Aurora you really have to be at a high latitude, for example, the very North of Scotland.