What is the worst impact that sunspots have ever had on earth?
Hi Ben! The first thing I should mention is that it is not the sunspots that impact Earth, but in fact it is the solar flares (and other related events) produced by these spots that can have an impact on Earth. We have seen a few events in history that have impacted Earth fairly drastically, but the point that we need to remember is that as technology increases, so do the chances that more systems can be affected by the Sun and its phenomena. I think that one of the most intriguing cases that I’ve read about is that there are now 4 astronauts that have been up in space (on shuttle missions) and have already received lifetime doses of radiation, due to solar activity! This means that each of these astronauts cannot go back up into space because they have already attained the maximum level of radiation allowable for space flight. This level of radiation can cause radiation sickness and even predetermine cancer. So, this is one of the reasons why it is so important for us here in the Spac
