Gary V wrote:

I have not seen any spots on the sun for months and then only once. For June and July I saw no flares either.

Although at a far reduced monthly rate when compared to 2000-2003, spots remain regular events. See AAVSO Solar Bulletin 64(8):4, discussed below. The AAVSO Solar Bulletin ( http://www.aavso.org/solar-bulletin ) lists standardized amateur visual sunspot counts by month based on visual observations of about 50 amateurs. The monthly AAVSO American (standardized) Sunspot Number for each month going back to Feb. 2008 (in which a report is published) are: Month Ra 201005 08.4 201004 07.0 201003 15.4 201002 19.5 201001 13.3 200910 04.5 200909 04.6 200908 00.0 200907 03.6 200906 03.2 200905 01.6 200904 00.4 200903 00.3 200902 00.7 200901 01.3 200812 00.5 200811 03.6 200810 02.4 200809 00.5 200808 00.2 200807 00.4 200806 03.0 200805 02.5 200804 02.2 200803 09.8 200802 01.6 A graph showing the mean number of AAVSO counted sunspots for January 2000 through January 2008 can be found on page 4 of the August 2008 issue of the AAVSO Solar Bulletin 64(8):4 at url - http://www.aavso.org/sites/default/files/solar_bulletin/aug08.pdf in http://www.aavso.org/solar-bulletin-2008 Assuming you mean prominences and not transient flares, the Bulletin also contains monthly examples of amateur photographs and drawings of prominences. In my experience prominences have remained a daily, observable event with a 40mm PST. I can remember only one observing session covering at least one day in almost all months in the last three years when I did not see a prominence on the solar disk. Clear Skies - Kurt