Here comes yet another round.........get used to it, this is gonna last the next 12-18 months.
Solar storm headed toward Earth may disrupt power
By SETH BORENSTEIN | Associated Press – 3 hrs ago
Related Content
WASHINGTON (AP) — The largest solar storm in five years is racing toward Earth, threatening to unleash a torrent of charged particles that could disrupt power grids, GPS and airplane flights.
The sun erupted Tuesday evening, and the effects should start smacking Earth between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. EST Thursday (0600 GMT and 1000 GMT), according to forecasters at the U.S. government's Space Weather Prediction Center. They say the storm, which started with a massive solar flare, is growing as it speeds outward from the sun.
"It's hitting us right in the nose," said Joe Kunches, a scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He called it the sun's version of "Super Tuesday."
Scientists say the sun has been relatively quiet for some time. And this storm, while strong, may seem fiercer because Earth has been lulled by several years of weak solar activity.
"This is a good-size event, but not the extreme type," said Bill Murtagh, program coordinator for the space weather center.
The solar storm is likely to last through Friday morning, but the region that erupted can still send more blasts our way, Kunches said. He said another set of active sunspots is ready to aim at Earth right after this.
But for now, scientists are waiting to see what happens Thursday when the charged particles hit Earth at 4 million mph (6.4 million kph).
NASA solar physicist Alex Young added, "It could give us a bit of a jolt." But he said this is far from a super solar storm.
The storm is coming after an earlier and weaker solar eruption happened Sunday, Kunches said. The latest blast of particles will probably arrive slightly later than forecasters first thought.
That means for North America the "good" part of a solar storm — the one that creates more noticeable auroras or Northern Lights — will peak Thursday evening. Auroras could dip as far south as the Great Lakes states or lower, Kunches said, but a full moon will make them harder to see.
Auroras are "probably the treat we get when the sun erupts," Kunches said.
But there is potential for widespread problems. Solar storms have three ways they can disrupt technology on Earth: with magnetic, radio and radiation emissions. This is an unusual situation when all three types of solar storm disruptions are likely to be strong, Kunches said.
That means "a whole host of things" could follow, he said.
The magnetic part of the storm has the potential to trip electrical power grids. Kunches said utility companies around the world have been alerted. The timing and speed of the storm determines whether it knocks off power grids, he said.
In 1989, a strong solar storm knocked out the power grid in Quebec, causing 6 million people to lose power.
Solar storms can also make global positioning systems less accurate, which is mostly a problem for precision drilling and other technologies, Kunches said. There also could be GPS outages.
The storm also can cause communication problems and added radiation around the north and south poles, which will probably force airlines to reroute flights. Some already have done so, Kunches said.
Satellites could be affected, too. NASA spokesman Rob Navias said the space agency isn't taking any extra precautions to protect astronauts on the International Space Station from added radiation.
___
Online:
NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center: www.swpc.noaa.gov
NASA on solar flare: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/News030712-X1.5.html
Solar storm headed toward Earth may disrupt power
By SETH BORENSTEIN | Associated Press – 3 hrs agoRelated Content
-
Enlarge PhotoThis handout image provided by NASA shows a solar flare heading toward Earth. An … -
Enlarge PhotoThis extreme ultraviolet wavelength image provided by NASA shows a solar flare. An …
WASHINGTON (AP) — The largest solar storm in five years is racing toward Earth, threatening to unleash a torrent of charged particles that could disrupt power grids, GPS and airplane flights.
The sun erupted Tuesday evening, and the effects should start smacking Earth between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. EST Thursday (0600 GMT and 1000 GMT), according to forecasters at the U.S. government's Space Weather Prediction Center. They say the storm, which started with a massive solar flare, is growing as it speeds outward from the sun.
"It's hitting us right in the nose," said Joe Kunches, a scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He called it the sun's version of "Super Tuesday."
Scientists say the sun has been relatively quiet for some time. And this storm, while strong, may seem fiercer because Earth has been lulled by several years of weak solar activity.
"This is a good-size event, but not the extreme type," said Bill Murtagh, program coordinator for the space weather center.
The solar storm is likely to last through Friday morning, but the region that erupted can still send more blasts our way, Kunches said. He said another set of active sunspots is ready to aim at Earth right after this.
But for now, scientists are waiting to see what happens Thursday when the charged particles hit Earth at 4 million mph (6.4 million kph).
NASA solar physicist Alex Young added, "It could give us a bit of a jolt." But he said this is far from a super solar storm.
The storm is coming after an earlier and weaker solar eruption happened Sunday, Kunches said. The latest blast of particles will probably arrive slightly later than forecasters first thought.
That means for North America the "good" part of a solar storm — the one that creates more noticeable auroras or Northern Lights — will peak Thursday evening. Auroras could dip as far south as the Great Lakes states or lower, Kunches said, but a full moon will make them harder to see.
Auroras are "probably the treat we get when the sun erupts," Kunches said.
But there is potential for widespread problems. Solar storms have three ways they can disrupt technology on Earth: with magnetic, radio and radiation emissions. This is an unusual situation when all three types of solar storm disruptions are likely to be strong, Kunches said.
That means "a whole host of things" could follow, he said.
The magnetic part of the storm has the potential to trip electrical power grids. Kunches said utility companies around the world have been alerted. The timing and speed of the storm determines whether it knocks off power grids, he said.
In 1989, a strong solar storm knocked out the power grid in Quebec, causing 6 million people to lose power.
Solar storms can also make global positioning systems less accurate, which is mostly a problem for precision drilling and other technologies, Kunches said. There also could be GPS outages.
The storm also can cause communication problems and added radiation around the north and south poles, which will probably force airlines to reroute flights. Some already have done so, Kunches said.
Satellites could be affected, too. NASA spokesman Rob Navias said the space agency isn't taking any extra precautions to protect astronauts on the International Space Station from added radiation.
___
Online:
NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center: www.swpc.noaa.gov
NASA on solar flare: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/News030712-X1.5.html
Here comes yet another round.........get used to it, this is gonna last the next 12-18 months.
Solar storm headed toward Earth may disrupt power
Related Content
WASHINGTON (AP) — The largest solar storm in five years is racing toward Earth, threatening to unleash a torrent of charged particles that could disrupt power grids, GPS and airplane flights.
The sun erupted Tuesday evening, and the effects should start smacking Earth between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. EST Thursday (0600 GMT and 1000 GMT), according to forecasters at the U.S. government's Space Weather Prediction Center. They say the storm, which started with a massive solar flare, is growing as it speeds outward from the sun.
"It's hitting us right in the nose," said Joe Kunches, a scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He called it the sun's version of "Super Tuesday."
Scientists say the sun has been relatively quiet for some time. And this storm, while strong, may seem fiercer because Earth has been lulled by several years of weak solar activity.
"This is a good-size event, but not the extreme type," said Bill Murtagh, program coordinator for the space weather center.
The solar storm is likely to last through Friday morning, but the region that erupted can still send more blasts our way, Kunches said. He said another set of active sunspots is ready to aim at Earth right after this.
But for now, scientists are waiting to see what happens Thursday when the charged particles hit Earth at 4 million mph (6.4 million kph).
NASA solar physicist Alex Young added, "It could give us a bit of a jolt." But he said this is far from a super solar storm.
The storm is coming after an earlier and weaker solar eruption happened Sunday, Kunches said. The latest blast of particles will probably arrive slightly later than forecasters first thought.
That means for North America the "good" part of a solar storm — the one that creates more noticeable auroras or Northern Lights — will peak Thursday evening. Auroras could dip as far south as the Great Lakes states or lower, Kunches said, but a full moon will make them harder to see.
Auroras are "probably the treat we get when the sun erupts," Kunches said.
But there is potential for widespread problems. Solar storms have three ways they can disrupt technology on Earth: with magnetic, radio and radiation emissions. This is an unusual situation when all three types of solar storm disruptions are likely to be strong, Kunches said.
That means "a whole host of things" could follow, he said.
The magnetic part of the storm has the potential to trip electrical power grids. Kunches said utility companies around the world have been alerted. The timing and speed of the storm determines whether it knocks off power grids, he said.
In 1989, a strong solar storm knocked out the power grid in Quebec, causing 6 million people to lose power.
Solar storms can also make global positioning systems less accurate, which is mostly a problem for precision drilling and other technologies, Kunches said. There also could be GPS outages.
The storm also can cause communication problems and added radiation around the north and south poles, which will probably force airlines to reroute flights. Some already have done so, Kunches said.
Satellites could be affected, too. NASA spokesman Rob Navias said the space agency isn't taking any extra precautions to protect astronauts on the International Space Station from added radiation.
___
Online:
NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center: www.swpc.noaa.gov
NASA on solar flare: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/News030712-X1.5.html
Those damn SUV's! Now they're causing solar flares! When will you people wake up?
It's not SUV's, it's people using too damned much toilet paper.
Report: Sheryl Crow's Solutions to Global Warming
Americans may be using less toilet paper, if Sheryl Crow has her way.
The singer, who is crossing the country on a biodiesel bus with [COLOR=blue !important][FONT=inherit !important][COLOR=blue !important][FONT=inherit !important]producer [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=inherit !important][COLOR=blue !important][FONT=inherit !important]Laurie [/FONT][/COLOR][COLOR=blue !important][FONT=inherit !important]David[/FONT][/COLOR][/FONT][/COLOR][/COLOR], proposes limiting toilet paper use as one solution to global warming, according to a Washington Post report.
I thought it was styrofoam? No, its SUV's. No wait, its toilet paper.
Ever think of this - there were ice ages in the past, right? Did humans cause those ice ages? Did humans cause the "global warming" that melted the ice and got us out of those ice ages and into a "normal" climate?
Hogwash, I say
Ever think of this - there were ice ages in the past, right? Did humans cause those ice ages? Did humans cause the "global warming" that melted the ice and got us out of those ice ages and into a "normal" climate?
Hogwash, I say
Since we here have so much in common I consider us all friends even though we dont always agree. So I mean no offense when I say that those who don't believe global warming exists are living in a closet and only see their same daily routine around them...
hang on i am totally aware of what is around me and they have proved the global warming as a misunderstanding and they have proved the climate has actually cooled
kind of a big statment to say someone that doesnt agree has on blinders???
Originally Posted by Hache Man
Since we here have so much in common I consider us all friends even though we dont always agree. So I mean no offense when I say that those who don't believe global warming exists are living in a closet and only see their same daily routine around them...
hang on i am totally aware of what is around me and they have proved the global warming as a misunderstanding and they have proved the climate has actually cooled
kind of a big statment to say someone that doesnt agree has on blinders???
Flat-Earther!
