evidence: The sun will reach the peak of its current activity cycle in 2024, one year earlier than previous estimates, according to experts at NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC). [...] We are of course not without our own natural protection — Earth's magnetic field. [...] When energetic particles and magnetic fields are released from the sun during events such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections, Earth can sometimes find itself within the line of fire.