Tue Jan 24, 2012, 03:59 AM
Ichingcarpenter (27,804 posts)
Big Solar storm headed toward Earth- will hit Tuesday
There's a solar Coronal Mass Ejection travelling towards us at 1,400 miles per second, the largest solar storm since 2005. It will hit Earth around 9am Eastern Time, causing fluctuations on the power grid and disruptions to the Global Positioning System.
There's something else, a strong proton storm—ranking S3 on a 5-level scale—which is in full rage now and gradually increasing. While CMEs are normal—about 2,000 every 11-year solar cycle—proton storms are very rare. Only a couple of dozen happen per solar cycle. And this one can be dangerous. The storm has already affected aircraft traffic and may affect satellites' computers. On a telephone interview, NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center physicist Doug Biesecker told me that, fortunately, there are measures to avoid most dangers. "Many airliners have been avoiding the North Pole routes because they are more exposed to the proton storm, which disrupts High Frequency radio communications," he said on a telephone interview. HF datalinks are crucial to modern airflight, as they keep aircraft connected to Air Traffic Control. Due to the structure of the magnetic field that surrounds Earth, the polar cusps have very little protection against outbursts of solar radiation, so any airplane crossing that area could be exposed to this mayhem. We're experiencing technical difficulties http://gizmodo.com/5878656/how-this-huge-solar-storm-is-going-to-affect-you
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12 replies, 1887 views
| Author | Time | Post | |
| Ichingcarpenter | Jan 2012 | OP | |
| Ichingcarpenter | Jan 2012 | #1 | |
| Warren DeMontague | Jan 2012 | #2 | |
| Ichingcarpenter | Jan 2012 | #5 | |
| Skidmore | Jan 2012 | #3 | |
| lonestarnot | Jan 2012 | #4 | |
| malaise | Jan 2012 | #6 | |
| countryjake | Jan 2012 | #7 | |
| justiceischeap | Jan 2012 | #8 | |
| democrat_patriot | Jan 2012 | #9 | |
| lapislzi | Jan 2012 | #10 | |
| uponit7771 | Jan 2012 | #11 | |
| countryjake | Jan 2012 | #12 |
Response to Ichingcarpenter (Original post)
Tue Jan 24, 2012, 04:26 AM
Ichingcarpenter (27,804 posts)
1. More links to science sites:
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ALMOST-X FLARE AND CME (UPDATED): This morning, Jan. 23rd around 0359 UT, big sunspot 1402 erupted, producing a long-duration M9-class solar flare. The explosion's M9-ranking puts it on the threshold of being an X-flare, the most powerful kind. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured the flare's extreme ultraviolet flash:
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/ http://spaceweather.com/ |
Response to Ichingcarpenter (Original post)
Tue Jan 24, 2012, 04:34 AM
Warren DeMontague (46,369 posts)
2. I TOLD YOU WE NEVER SHOULD HAVE BOMBED THE MOON!
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We must assemble a team of psychokinetic warriors and indigo children immediately.
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Response to Warren DeMontague (Reply #2)
Tue Jan 24, 2012, 04:54 AM
Ichingcarpenter (27,804 posts)
5. My electronic Mayan Calendar which I bought
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at CostCo seems to be running fast.
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Response to Ichingcarpenter (Original post)
Tue Jan 24, 2012, 04:37 AM
Skidmore (29,035 posts)
3. Do we have some military group buried in a bunker somewhere that
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can get a nuke together to bomb the sun??? The sun is attacking us!!!
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Response to Ichingcarpenter (Original post)
Tue Jan 24, 2012, 04:39 AM
lonestarnot (71,135 posts)
4. Fuck there goes my insurance refund check.
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Last edited Tue Jan 24, 2012, 04:39 AM USA/ET - Edit history (1) |
Response to Ichingcarpenter (Original post)
Tue Jan 24, 2012, 05:47 AM
malaise (106,088 posts)
6. Thanks for this
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Response to Ichingcarpenter (Original post)
Tue Jan 24, 2012, 06:00 AM
countryjake (4,779 posts)
7. Just checked for Northern Lights...
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we've got a partial cloud cover here right now, but high winds are forecast in the next couple of hours, so I might get a view if the Aurora Borealis are out there.
Thanks for posting about this latest Solar Ejection. Seems the Sun is gearing up for 2013. |
Response to Ichingcarpenter (Original post)
Tue Jan 24, 2012, 07:05 AM
justiceischeap (9,831 posts)
8. Yay, it's a storm for my birthday!
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I'm actually working on a novel that involves an X class solar flare knocking out electricity on earth... I had someone tell me it wasn't realistic. Now the sun is doing some PR for me.
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Response to justiceischeap (Reply #8)
Tue Jan 24, 2012, 09:16 AM
democrat_patriot (2,766 posts)
9. Start collecting news articles
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Put in your story.
Good luck!! What's it called, and when is it due? |
Response to Ichingcarpenter (Original post)
Tue Jan 24, 2012, 09:30 AM
lapislzi (4,879 posts)
10. Coronal mass ejection
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Isn't that something to do with frat boys on spring break?
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Response to Ichingcarpenter (Original post)
Tue Jan 24, 2012, 09:33 AM
uponit7771 (16,155 posts)
11. Would this mean a warmer winter?
Response to Ichingcarpenter (Original post)
Tue Jan 24, 2012, 06:08 PM
countryjake (4,779 posts)
12. Not to worry...
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Wolfie has just reported on the storm and states no danger to humans, whatsoever. CNN is so comforting.
That must be why the international space station has told its astronauts to stay indoors, eh? Rerouting of commercial air flight close to the poles, mere coincidence. |

