SUMMARY: When astronauts will be spending more time in space, it'll be helpful to know when there'll be clear "space weather", to minimize their exposure to dangerous amounts of radiation. NASA scientists have developed a better understanding of the underlying causes of solar flares, and think they can now predict times for "clear skies". Areas likely to explode as flares happen when magnetic fields of different alignments merge together on the Sun's surface. Electrical currents must then build up for several hours before a flare erupts.

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