1. Notional cause of an odd error. "Why did
the program suddenly turn the screen blue?" "Sunspots, I
guess." 2. Also the cause of bit rot -- from the myth that
sunspots will increase cosmic rays, which can flip single bits
in memory. See also phase of the moon.
cosmic rays n.
Notionally, the cause of bit rot.
However, this is a semi-independent usage that may be invoked as a
humorous way to handwave away any minor randomness that
doesn't seem worth the bother of investigating....