NASA
Sept. 30, 2008: Astronomers who count sunspots have announced that 2008 is now the "blankest year" of the Space Age.
As of Sept. 27, 2008, the sun had been blank, i.e., had no visible sunspots, on 200 days of the year. To find a year with more blank suns, you have to go back to 1954, three years before the launch of Sputnik, when the sun was blank 241 times.
Todays APOD has a movie of a Sept 29th solar prominence that lasted several hours caught by the STEREO spacecraft.
Sunspot predictions
Looks another year or so before amateur astronomers can view and capture sunspots as they transverse across the sun with any regularity and enthusiasm.
It’s been two years since I attached the solar filter on the telescope to check out sunspots.
Blankest Year of the Space Age