Duck! There's a solar storm going on
by Andy Smith | January 24, 2012 8:13am PST | Image 1 of 12
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Trouble with your GPS? Your computer is mysteriously rebooting? It's probably due to the effects of a solar storm coming from the sun.
The Solar Dynamics Observatory watched this solar flare erupting from the sun on January 22, 2012. The "solar energetic particles" which erupted from the sun are traveling at a speed of 1,400 miles per second and will hit Earth on January 24
How do solar storms affect life on Earth? NASA gives this explanation:
"Strong electrical currents driven along the Earth’s surface during auroral events disrupt electric power grids and contribute to the corrosion of oil and gas pipelines. Changes in the ionosphere during geomagnetic storms interfere with high-frequency radio communications and Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation. During polar cap absorption events caused by solar protons, radio communications can be compromised for commercial airliners on transpolar crossing routes. Exposure of spacecraft to energetic particles during solar energetic particle events and radiation belt enhancements cause temporary operational anomalies, damage critical electronics, degrade solar arrays, and blind optical systems such as imagers and star trackers."
And don't forget the astronauts.
Talkback Most Recent of 6 Talkback(s)
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"... a solar storm coming from the sun."
So from where else do solar storms appear?
mjappfactory24th Jan -
RE: Duck! There's a solar storm going on
@mjappfactory
Umm, billions of other stars.
NoAxToGrind24th Jan -
RE: Duck! There's a solar storm going on
@NoAxToGrind
Umm, not strictly true. The word solar, from the Roman Sol, is used to describe our Sun, not other stars.
ElTel24th Jan -
Could that kill a man-made satellite?
And if yes, what would happen to the dead satellite?
RelaxWalk24th Jan -
RE: Duck! There's a solar storm going on
@RelaxWalk Kill a satellite?
You betcha. A couple different ways this could happen. 1. Radiation could fry the circuitry of the satellite. It's pretty strong stuff and in the 80's was strong enough to fry electrical substations in Canada. Astronauts in the ISS have to retreat to shielded areas to get some protection from the radiation. Our atmosphere blocks most of this, though it can pour down through the magnetic lines at the poles, so except in the extreme cases (and they do happen - see 1859) the radiation won't have much impact on us here on earth. 2. The solar storm will inflate the earth's atmosphere causing greater drag on low earth orbit satellites. That will affect their orbit and could eventually cause them to deorbit - crash.
Despite that this solar storm is still in the M class, just short of the X class storms that we can expect to see as the sun nears Solar Max in its 11 year cycle.
Visit http://www.spaceweather.com to keep up to date on what the sun is doing.
boomchuck124th Jan -
11 year cycle
OK, examining the last pic, it looks like the Sun had a peak in 2001. So, is it due to hit its 11 year peak in 2012? Interesting ...
Hal_900125th Jan
Talkback - Tell Us What You Think
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