The first sunspot of what is predicted to be a heightened 11 year period of solar activity occurred recently in the Sun's Northern hemisphere. According to the Global Magazine for Geomatics (GIM), "The new sunspot, identified as #10,981, is the latest visible spot to appear since NOAA began numbering them on January 5, 1972." NOAA' Space Weather Prediction Center noted that Solar Cycle 24 would begin around March 2008, plus or minus six months.

This latest Solar Cycle is predicted to be potentially disruptive to communications satellites and GPS signals as a result of increased solar activity. According to Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr., undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator, disruptions resulting from increased solar activity could affect daily tasks such as using mobile phones or ATM machines, tasks that are increasingly routine but rely on space-based technologies.

You can view the full prediction for Solar Cycle 24 at NOAA's Space Environment Center site.