The project, with the Earth science section of the National Fund Committee as the lead sponsor, involves over 20 research units of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

According to Wei Fengsi, a researcher at the CAS Space Science and Application Research Center, under the 15-year "Space Weather Strategic Plan" China will improve space weather forecast accuracy and increase monitoring capability.

The enhanced capability will provide better safety warning and protection to high tech operations such as satellites, telecommunications, navigation, human spaceflights, power generation, exploration and national defence.

The emphasis of the strategic plan will be on researching fundamental processes of space weather, building physical and forecast models, and establishing an information database and communications system.

Solar astronomers in the West have predicted that the Sun will reach the peak of its 11-year activity cycle some time this year, and may remain active for another year or two.

Although the current activity cycle is forecasted to be less severe than the last two, impacts of solar activities will likely be felt.

When the Sun is active, more sunspots and eruptions occur. Sunspots are cooler, thus darker, areas which have a higher local magnetic field than the rest of the solar atmosphere.

Some of the energy generated deep inside the Sun is stored in complex sunspot groups. Energy stored here may be released in violent eruptions called solar flares.

During solar flare eruptions, charged particles are hurled out of the Sun. If these particles impact Earth, they may cause spectacular displays of aurora .

However, the same particles can create geomagnetic storms and deposit excess amount of energy on satellite components and power grids, causing these systems to fail.

Solar flares can also disrupt telecommunications, corrode pipelines, upset navigation systems, and pose radiation hazard to orbiting yuhangyuan (astronauts in Chinese).

Professor Wei said, "As mankind relies more on high technology development such as satellites, attention on space weather research is [at a stage] similiar to terrestrial weather research half a century ago, and is rapidly becoming an international focus."

Wei added, "In the new century various sectors in China, including spaceflight, telecommunications and navigation, economic, and national defence will have a more urgent demand on space weather research."

China has a long tradition of solar observations. Record of sunspot observations has been traced as early as 28 B.C. The current research initiative will extend this tradition and bring China to the modern era of studying solar-terrestrial relations.