URGENTSolar Storm Warning

It's official: Solar minimum has arrived. Sunspots have all but vanished. Solar flares are nonexistent. The sun is utterly quiet.

Like the quiet before a storm.

This week researchers announced that a storm is coming--the most intense solar maximum in fifty years. The prediction comes from a team led by Mausumi Dikpati of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). "The next sunspot cycle will be 30% to 50% stronger than the previous one," she says. If correct, the years ahead could produce a burst of solar activity second only to the historic Solar Max of 1958.

That was a solar maximum. The Space Age was just beginning: Sputnik was launched in Oct. 1957 and Explorer 1 (the first US satellite) in Jan. 1958. In 1958 you couldn't tell that a solar storm was underway by looking at the bars on your cell phone; cell phones didn't exist. Even so, people knew something big was happening when Northern Lights were sighted three timesin Mexico. A similar maximum now would be noticed by its effect on cell phones, GPS, weather satellites and many other modern technologies.

Right: Intense auroras over Fairbanks, Alaska, in 1958. [More]

Dikpati's prediction is unprecedented. In nearly-two centuries since the 11-year sunspot cycle was discovered, scientists have struggled to predict the size of future maxima—and failed. Solar maxima can be intense, as in 1958, or barely detectable, as in 1805, obeying no obvious pattern.

The key to the mystery, Dikpati realized years ago, is a conveyor belt on the sun.

We have something similar here on Earth—the Great Ocean Conveyor Belt, popularized in the sci-fi movie The Day After Tomorrow. It is a network of currents that carry water and heat from ocean to ocean--see the diagram below. In the movie, the Conveyor Belt stopped and threw the world's weather into chaos.

Above: Earth's "Great Ocean Conveyor Belt." [More]

The sun's conveyor belt is a current, not of water, but of electrically-conducting gas. It flows in a loop from the sun's equator to the poles and back again. Just as the Great Ocean Conveyor Belt controls weather on Earth, this solar conveyor belt controls weather on the sun. Specifically, it controls the sunspot cycle.

Solar physicist David Hathaway of the National Space Science & Technology Center (NSSTC) explains: "First, remember what sunspots are--tangled knots of magnetism generated by the sun's inner dynamo. A typical sunspot exists for just a few weeks. Then it decays, leaving behind a 'corpse' of weak magnetic fields."

Enter the conveyor belt.

"The top of the conveyor belt skims the surface of the sun, sweeping up the magnetic fields of old, dead sunspots. The 'corpses' are dragged down at the poles to a depth of 200,000 km where the sun's magnetic dynamo can amplify them. Once the corpses (magnetic knots) are reincarnated (amplified), they become buoyant and float back to the surface." Presto—new sunspots!

Right: The sun's "great conveyor belt." [Larger image]

All this happens with massive slowness. "It takes about 40 years for the belt to complete one loop," says Hathaway. The speed varies "anywhere from a 50-year pace (slow) to a 30-year pace (fast)."

When the belt is turning "fast," it means that lots of magnetic fields are being swept up, and that a future sunspot cycle is going to be intense. This is a basis for forecasting: "The belt was turning fast in 1986-1996," says Hathaway. "Old magnetic fields swept up then should re-appear as big sunspots in 2010-2011."

Like most experts in the field, Hathaway has confidence in the conveyor belt model and agrees with Dikpati that the next solar maximum should be a doozy. But he disagrees with one point. Dikpati's forecast puts Solar Max at 2012. Hathaway believes it will arrive sooner, in 2010 or 2011.

"History shows that big sunspot cycles 'ramp up' faster than small ones," he says. "I expect to see the first sunspots of the next cycle appear in late 2006 or 2007—and Solar Max to be underway by 2010 or 2011."

Who's right? Time will tell. Either way, a storm is coming.

What was hapenning this weekend???

Happy weekend, celebrity news and gossip fans. Below, The Hollywood Gossipstaff reflects on both an eventful and tragic week in the celebrity world.

All of this crazy stuff and more happened ...

• Michael Jackson died of cardiac arrest at age 50. The cause of death remains unknown but rumors say a Demerol overdose may have contributed. Also unclear? Whether ex-wife Debbie Rowe will take custody of his kids.
• To the surprise of no one, Jon and Kate Gosselin officially separated after 10 years of marriage and two months of non-stop tabloid attention. Mistress Deanna Hummel may join the show when it returns from its hiatus.
• A fight with the Black Eyed Peas left Perez Hilton assaulted, as you can see on this video and this photo. Polo Molina, the Peas' manager, was arrested. Perez eventually apologized for using a gay slur to rile up the Peas
• Actress Farrah Fawcett passed away at 62 after a well-publicized battle with cancer, while showbiz legend Ed McMahon also died this week at age 86
• South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford went AWOL, lied about hiking on the Appalachian Trail, then admitted an affair with Maria Belen Shapur
• Danielle Staub sued Steve Zalewski to block the release of her sex tape.
• Terrell Owens finally met his match (Joanna Krupa) and shuts his yap.
• Stephen Moyer called out Robert Pattinson as the Slim-Fast of vampires.
• Taylor Lautner and Kristen Stewart sizzle on a redesigned New Moon cover!

Liverpool Confirm Fee Agreed With Portsmouth For Glen Johnson

Liverpool have released a statement this evening confirming that they have agreed a fee with Portsmouthfor England right-back Glen Johnson, the man who was also a reported transfer target for Chelsea this summer, with both clubs apparently agreeing to meet Pompey's valuation of the player a figure of £17.5 million, according to Sky Sports News. However, Johnson always looked more likely to join the Reds, after enduring a fairly unhappy time at Stamford Bridge prior to his switch to Fratton Park, to where he moved from Chelsea for £5million last summer. The player had been on loan at Pompey prior to the move, as he had found first team action difficult to come by in London. The statement, issued via the club's official website, read: "Liverpool FC confirmed this evening that they had reached an agreement with Portsmouth Football Club and with Glen Johnson for the transfer of the player to Anfield."

Liverpool Sign Young Striker Aaron King From Rushden & Diamonds

Liverpool have signed highly-rated 16-year-old winger Aaron King from Blue Square Premier League club Rushden & Diamonds. King is the third player to graduate from the non-league outfit's academy, after Paris Cowan-Hall and Callum Reynolds joined Portsmouth last year. The player, who has been at Rushden since he was 11, has moved to Anfield for an undisclosed fee, according toBBC Sport, and will begin a two-year scholarship at Anfield beginning on July 6, after enjoying a successful trial with the Reds. "We are all absolutely thrilled for Aaron," Rushden's head of youth Paul Driver told the club's official website,

"This is a brilliant achievement for everyone involved in his development in the five years he has been with us.

"His progress with us to get to the level where one of the 'big four' is prepared to offer him a scholarship also serves as further evidence of how well we have maintained our system, despite the withdrawal of financial support from the football authorities in the past two seasons."

Another teenager, Spanish 16-year-old Suso, is also reported as being close to joining the Reds, after the Merseysiders beat Real Madrid and Barcelona to the player's signature

Liverpool Have Signed A Jewel In Suso...an interview with his former coach...

Liverpool have signed a jewel for the future when they secured the services of Jesus Fernandez Saez, who is nicknamed Suso, ahead of the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid, according to his former youth team coach, Quique Gonzalez. Goal.com spoke exclusively to the Cadiz trainer that helped groom the 16-year-old before he was spotted by the Reds and he gave his thoughts on the player's abilities, character and chance of succeeding in England. Goal.com: Quique, how did Suso arrive at Cadiz? Quique Gonzalez: Suso arrived at the club four or five years ago. He played for all the junior teams before moving up to play for the cadetes. I saw him play in a small team in the region, Centro Berman, and as Cadiz have a collaboration agreement with them we offered Suso the chance to join us and move here with his family. Goal.com: Has he had any experience playing at juvenile level? QG: Yes, he has played in the Cadiz and Andalucia teams, but it has surprised me that they have never called him up for the Spain Under-16 team. The coach has seen him several times, but has not called him. That is strange because the Andalucian side is one of the strongest at national level in his age group and Suso has stood out for them and been the best on occasion. But they still have decided not to call him up. Goal.com: What kind of player have Liverpool signed? What will Suso give them? QG: He is a left-sided midfielder with extraordinary talent. He has great quality, a good shot, his vision is great and his passing is outstanding. He has a bit of everything and I think they have signed a jewel. With a youth team one can try them out in several positions, but I think he would also be good as an attacking or holding midfielder. He may not have that much speed, that is not his strong point. But he can dribble well and does have great vision. He could be effective playing in the middle. Goal.com: Could you compare him with a well-known player in Spain? QG: I do not like making comparisons, but if you are talking about his style of play then maybe someone like Guti. He may also have something about him like Albert Riera too, but not as much. I think Suso does have elements of those players. What is very important though is that he can score goals. He likes to go into the area as part of the second wave. He has scored a good number of goals from distance too, that is one of his qualities. Goal.com: What is Suso like as a person? QG: He is dedicated and intelligent. He is well-grounded. He focuses on his education, is a good team-mate who is also well-disciplined and good mannered. Goal.com: Liverpool cannot have been the first team to want him. What other clubs were interested? QG: Various Spanish teams watched him, the biggest ones. Almeria did and Villarreal and then Sevilla and after them Real Madrid and Barcelona also showed an interest. When things like this happen the smaller clubs are used to struggling to hold on to players and with Barca and Madrid looking on it is difficult. But Liverpool's offer seemed to be very good and that was something that they sorted out with the boy and his family. Goal.com: What does it mean to Cadiz that a club like Liverpool were interested in one of your players? Especially one that had not even trained with the first team. QG: As much for me as for the coaches at the club it was a proud moment that such a big team saw him and were so interested. It means that the Cadiz youth system is working well and that we have good players. It also made me a bit sad that we did not have the chance to see him play in our first team though. He has left without ever training at the highest level with us. We had great hopes for him, but that is the way it is. If Manchester United cannot even keep Cristiano Ronaldo when Real Madrid were interested, you can imagine what it is like for a club Cadiz. Goal.com: Cadiz have won promotion back to la Segunda A and Liverpool may want to loan the player out before giving him his debut in the Premier League. QG: I think that he has everything needed to succeed there, but if he cannot do it quickly and he was to spend time with another team it would be great if he was to fill a space in our team. But I am sure he will have plenty of offers from clubs in England too

Taken from Goal.com

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Taylor Swift & T-Pain: A Thug Story...Cool Rap from country girl

Taylor Swift teamed up with T-Pain for a funny rap collaboration called “Thug Story,” spoofing her hit song “Love Story” and kicking off the 2009 CMT awards.

One of country music's biggest (and least controversial) stars may have gone gangsta, but she still has fun with her own squeaky-clean image with lines like:

• “You can find me baking cookies at night. You out clubbin’? But I just made caramel delights!”
• “You don’t wanna fight me ... in my extra-small white T.”
• “You can call me T-Sweezy.”