ALL QUIET ALERT  

With the Sun's disk almost completely devoid of sunspots, solar flare activity has come to a halt. Measurements by NOAA's GOES 15 Ssatellite show that the sun's global x-ray emission, a key metric of solar activity, has flatlined. The quiet spell is a bit strange because 2013 is supposed to be a year of solar maximum, with lots of flares and sunspots. upporting this view are data from NASA-supported observatories which show that the sun's magnetic field is poised to flip--a long-held sign that Solar Max has arrived. Nevertheless, solar activity is low.