July 1, 2002: Solar Maximum - Ramon Lopez

Art Bell welcomes physicist Dr. Ramon Lopez to discuss a massive solar eruption that occurred on July 1, 2002, with photographs posted on Art's website showing the sun sprouting enormous fiery protrusions. The first hour features Richard C. Hoagland reporting on a landmark two-hour phone conference with NASA's Dr. Jim Garvin about obtaining new images of Cydonia and other anomalous features on Mars.

Dr. Lopez, a Distinguished Professor at the University of Texas El Paso and author of "Storms from the Sun," explains how solar flares and coronal mass ejections threaten satellites, airline passengers flying polar routes, and even cell phone communications. He details the unusual double peak of the current solar cycle and discusses the connection between solar magnetic activity and Earth's climate, referencing the Maunder Minimum and its correlation with the Little Ice Age.

The conversation turns to the risks facing future manned missions to Mars, where astronauts would have no atmospheric or magnetic field protection from radiation. Art and Dr. Lopez also examine Earth's weakening and wandering magnetic field, the possibility of a pole reversal, and whether increased solar output may be contributing to observed global warming alongside human activity.