Lancaster University in the north of England, has claimed that solar flares could knock out signalling systems and cause red signals to turn green. The rather alarmist claims come in a report into the disruptive effects of the regular phenomenon of a solar maximum – an eleven-year cycle, commonly known as sun spots. The phenomena are very real, as anyone observing the currently active Northern Lights will testify. Aurora in the nighttime sky is a clear indication of increased solar activity. Those green auroras could spell danger.